COUPLE’S RACE AGAINST CLOCK TO HAVE BABY
PANDEMIC WIPES OUT PAIR’S IVF CASH
ACOUPLE are racing against the clock to realise their dream of having a child together.
Mitch and Craig Tucker-Wilson had hoped that 2020 would be the year they started a family, after saving for years to fund surrogacy.
The married pair, from Speedwell in Bristol, have already identified an eager surrogate and a private clinic to carry out the IVF treatment.
However, while heterosexual couples are able to get funding for some fertility treatments on the NHS, Mitch and Craig are not eligible for any financial help.
They had saved up enough money to pay £15,000 to the clinic for the treatment and expenses, but coronavirus had a huge impact on the events and wedding business they run together, and their fund is fast depleting.
Mitch, 31, said: “I’ve always wanted to be a dad. Working in the entertainment industry, my main passion was working with children.
“Having a baby would mean everything. I don’t know how to put it into words.
“I want to have those late nights, the feeds, for them to fall asleep in your arms.”
The DJ and singer, who was formerly a Redcoat and then Bluecoat entertainer at two popular holiday parks, joined forces with former architect Craig to start an events and wedding business together.
Their bookings were cancelled as a result of the pandemic, however, and they have had to seek Universal Credit benefits until their income returns.
Mitch said: “It’s been horrendous.
“I’m looking for a new job, a check-out job or something until then [the industry recovers].
“I love what we do and thought we were untouchable – I thought ‘there will always be events and parties’.”
His mum Kathryn Strange has now set up a JustGiving page in support of their surrogacy fund, and said a baby would be a “precious gift”.
Writing on the page, she said: “Unfortunately due to the current pandemic the money saved through their hard work has had to be used for living expenses and to keep their business afloat.
“This has destroyed their hope of becoming a family for the foreseeable future.
“Their chosen surrogate wants nothing more than to provide them with the child they so desperately long for.”
Craig, 36, would be the biological father of their baby and a donor would be sought to supply the egg.
His uncle’s wife – his aunt by marriage – has agreed to be the surrogate, but she is reaching the age where fertility treatments are likely to be less successful and run into complications.
Having to save up again could mean having to find an entirely different surrogate a few years down the line.
The law means that any surrogate can choose to keep the baby after the birth if they decide to – the couple have no legal right to become its parents.
Mitch said it would be a struggle to find someone they trust enough to go through process together.
He is keen to stress that they are prepared to take on the financial responsibility of having a child, and that their fundraiser is to address the urgency of the cashflow problem.
He explained: “We were worried that people would think ‘if you can’t afford this, how can you bring up a baby?’
“It’s more a case of the time limit – it’s not the fact we couldn’t save it up again, it would take years.”
Mitch said they were initially reluctant to ask people for financial help, but they have put aside their pride to have the best chance of having their baby.
The couple have been together for 13 years, and married for six, having tied the knot the same year that same-sex marriage was made legal.
They have endured a lot in that time, including Craig being diagnosed with and overcoming cancer a few years ago.
Writing on the fundraising page, Mitch’s mum said: “They have worked tirelessly building their business and making sacrifices to raise the funds to enable them to become fathers.
“Gay couples do not get NHS help when it comes to surrogacy (which I do not agree with and believe to be discriminating) so they have had to raise the £15,000 for the procedure on their own.
“Everything was on the right track and plans were going ahead for them to start their family this year.”
Mitch said he would like to see more funding made available for same-sex couples, and they hope to help others in their position if their campaign is a success.
He added: “I think there’s a lot of discrimination towards same-sex couples.
“When I was growing up, as soon as you said you’re gay, people thought you were this ‘camp’ person who wanted to be a woman.
“It was never just about who you’d fallen in love with.”
Due to the pandemic the money saved through their hard work has had to be used for living expenses and to keep their business afloat. This has destroyed their hope of becoming a family for the foreseeable future Kathryn Strange