B.C. couple struggles to find doctor for Ukrainian woman who's carrying their twins and fleeing to Canada
A Pender Island, B.C., couple is searching for a family doctor for a Ukrainian woman who's acting as a surrogate mother and who's coming to stay with them indefinitely amid Russia's invasion.
For Craig and Ylse Barber, Ukraine is very special. The B.C. Gulf Island couple's 17-month-old son, Mateos, was born there by way of a surrogate mother.
"He was born in Ukraine," says Ylse, beaming through the computer screen from the family’s home on Pender Island.
The toddler’s parents decided recently that Mateos needed a sibling, so they reached out again to the same fertility clinic in Kyiv that they'd used before.
For the second time, a different young woman by the name of Karina was selected as the surrogate. She is a single Ukrainian mother with two daughters, a three year old and a five year old.
"[In the] beginning of January we transferred the embryos that we left in Ukraine, frozen, to a new surrogate and she got pregnant with twins," says Ylse with a big smile on her face.
But a month after learning Karina was pregnant with brothers for Mateos, war broke out in Ukraine.
Karina fled to Poland – and now the Pender Island couple is welcoming her and her daughters to come live indefinitely with them in Canada.
The Barbers are also welcoming another Ukrainian woman — a friend of Karina's — to come stay with them.
"We did some renos in the basement, made some more rooms and they're staying with us," says Ylse.
B.C. DOCTOR SHORTAGE
Karina was supposed to land in B.C. on April 26, but it’s important that she have a family doctor, so the Barbers have delayed her arrival until next month.
"It’s a high risk pregnancy and she will need a doctor as soon as she arrives," says Ylse.
The B.C. couple have struggled to find a doctor taking new patients on Pender Island, or anywhere else for that matter.
"So far I have not been able to find a family doctor that can take her because everybody is too busy," says Ylse.
The predicament is just another challenge that refugees face in Canada, says Victoria Grando, the office manager at Victoria's Ukrainian Cultural Centre.
"Everyday there is never a dull moment at the cultural centre for sure," she says with a good-natured laugh.
Mateos’ brothers are due in September. The family says they'll even consider arranging for Karina to move to Vancouver if needed for adequate medical care before then, but for now the plans are to welcome her next month — when they all meet for the first time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim downing U.S. Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft
Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.