April, Apes, Apez, Lirpa, ... by whatever name you know her by, you know she has a huge caring heart and has been a mentor, supporter, mamma role to so many campers, staff, friends, and more. A genuine desire to make the world a better place through random acts of kindness and everyday thoughtfulness follows her everywhere despite her own struggles.

If you know April, you also know that she has wanted to have a baby (aka be pregnant, not just a parent) for basically her whole adult life, maybe earlier. While working with kids and young people is meaningful and not likely to end soon, there remains a desire to have her own kiddo. Traditional expectations like a partner, sperm + egg meet ups, etc have not been in her cards.

Through school and body/mental health complications and struggles with inconsistent work, the alternative supported pregnancy route (IVF, ICI, IUI) have also not been accessible to April. Approaching age 45 the medical system has dictated that April now seek either a zygote...no, embryo, (prefertilized egg) or egg donor - in addition to the need of a sperm donation.

As you may guess, this is a devastating blow to the dream of having one's own offspring, being told your fertility is (by arbitrary age categorization) inadequate to make a baby. Already anticipating huge costs for donor sperm, this new information has made the pursuit of parentage even more distant.

For her 45th birthday, April is asking for monetary support towards achieving this life-long desire to be a full-time, full-on parent. The costs associated with medical insemination are huge! a donor egg costs $25,000 each, with embryos running ~$8,000 - and there is only ever a 20% chance of pregnancy with any method meaning more tries will likely be needed. April is prepared to foot these costs, as she is committed to trying to conceive, but obviously it is a lot. Every little bit helps ($5? $50? $500!) and your support, even just telling your friends, goes a long way!

Let's show our big-hearted bestie some love and send some CAD$ in her direction. You can use this app or connect with April directly to send an e-transfer. She does not need to meet the $25,000 big picture in order to receive your gifts and support. Even the gifts of presence, well wishes, and memories of how April has been a mother or support to you are valid and significant.

...and Happy Birthday April!