Dan, Daniel and Amaya

Hey everyone, my name is Chenall and I've been best friends with Dan for about 10 years now. Dan started out as my manager and as fate would have it, we quickly became best friends. For as long as I've known Dan he has always wanted to be a dad and this dream became even more apparent when he found his match Daniel who also shared the same dream of becoming a dad.

Yes they're both Daniels and to anyone who knows me ,knows, I just refer to them as "the boys" and expect everyone to know who I'm talking about haha. In some ways they couldn't be more opposite in personality but they seem to perfectly balance each other out. They got married in March last year and I was lucky enough to be a part of their beautiful wedding.

After many (pre-covid) months of researching, planning, conversations, calls, emails and sleepless nights the list goes on, they were lucky enough to accepted into a surrogacy program in Cancun, Mexico. They had little choice but to travel during the restrictions to fulfil their dream of being parents. They made the decision to travel to Mexico and gratefully they both were able to welcome the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Amaya in late July.

With a tight budget and a lot of preparation before embarking on their journey, they could not have foreseen the year that has been. Covid-19 has undoubtedly put a lot more pressure and stress into the whole trip with lengthy delays and Covid restrictions let alone being in a different country. They have been in a hiatus in Cancun for more than 3 months and have had a number of setbacks delaying their return to Australia.

I relish all their posts on social media and enjoy reading all the positive well wishes, but it saddens me to also know, that they both have financial concerns. While they would never ask for a handout , I know first-hand, the unexpected extra expenses they have had to incur during this time of uncertainty.

So as Dans best friend I'm going to bite the bullet (because I know they would do this for me or anyone for that matter if the table's were turned) and call on everyone out there if you could spare a thought and give a small donation of any amount no matter how small, I know "the boys" would be eternally grateful.

To be transparent about the extra costs, and what the donations would go towards these are just some of the extras I personally know of.

- Extra 10K in hospital costs due to surrogate having Covid and having to pay for an extra room
- Extra accommodation for staying longer than initially anticipated (delays in passport)
- Booked and cancelled flights (by airlines)
- Added cost of hotel quarantine when they do return to Australia

While this is all a fraction of some of the added costs, I know they would do it all again as they've been so lucky to have their beautiful daughter Amaya.  

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read this and support "the boys". And thanks to their friends that are helping spread the word.

For further information and pictures please check out Dans Instagram @thedailydan_