Mummy and Daddy Duck's Special Gift

After 11 years of trying different fertility treatments, we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Wanting to express to him just how special he was, I wrote this book for him on his first birthday.

This story about a family of ducks introduces the concept of surrogacy to kids, narrating our journey through surrogacy.

Author Biography

I am South African-born and immigrated to Canada in 2008. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa in 2008 and then qualified as a Chartered Professional Accountant in Canada in 2009. After many years of struggling with severe endometriosis and infertility, we decided to try surrogacy. My religious and spiritual faith helped me never to give up, and we were blessed with our baby boy. When he was 8 months old the COVID pandemic hit, and we were challenged with keeping our baby safe. Following our survival of the pandemic, our family encountered another challenge when he was 22 months old, I suffered a stroke after undergoing surgery. The most challenging aspect of my recovery was being separated from my son. His resilience has taught me strength, inspiring me to become someone he can be proud of.During my stroke recovery, I was fortunate to meet a fellow stroke survivor who is a talented artist. Steve Delahunty is not only my dear friend, but he has been a role model for many other stroke survivors. After a brain aneurysm and two strokes, Steve uses his artistic talent to motivate others to show how we can still live an accomplished life after the limitations our brain injuries have caused. Steve has brought my words to life with his beautiful illustrations.