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.