London Fertility Clinic To Honour Dying Woman's Wish

11/16/2012

An Ontario woman's dying wish has led to the creation of a philanthropic program a London-based fertility clinic hopes will help families in need.

The recent death of a woman from southern Ontario led to Fertility Ontario, a London-based fertility clinic receiving hundreds of dollars in the mail. The money caught officials at the clinic off-guard, as they weren't anticipating any money to arrive. In all, six cheques were mailed to the clinic, totaling $310.

Medical Director at Fertility Ontario Dr. John McNaught says the money was a complete surprise.

"You know we were having a quiet day at the office and there was this envelope from a funeral home in Sarnia that was full of personal cheques and we were all really, really puzzled by it and had to do some homework to figure out where they've come from."

What they found out would turn out to be inspiring.

A 36-year-old woman named Laura passed away only weeks after giving birth to a healthy baby girl. She had suffered for years from several painful miscarriages and desperately wanted to start a family with her husband.

McNaught talked to her husband who revealed it was his wife's wish that donations from her funeral service go to a local fertility clinic.

The story struck a chord with McNaught who is the same age as the woman and became a father within weeks of when the woman gave birth. McNaught says the story was a call to action.

"We're planning on paying it forward as best we can. I'm donating my own money to the cause and my own time. I've had a couple pharmaceutical companies offer to donate medications and what we're going to be able to do is offer a full cycle of fertility therapy to a family in need."

Out of a tragic death came the birth of "Laura's Wish", a philanthropic program created by Fertility Ontario. The clinic will receive applications from people in need of fertility treatment but lack the financial means to acquire it.

McNaught says the program will do a lot of good.

"We also hope that it is going to raise awareness because this lady suffered. Fertility patients often suffer in silence and if this program can raise awareness as to how much of a struggle it is for some people to have a family then I think we'll be able to do more than just help one individual."

For McNaught and others at Fertility Ontario, it's more about the motive than the money they received. The $310 isn't enough to fund a full cycle of fertility therapy but McNaught says what it did was make the employees think about what they value and the type of clinic they want to have.

Anyone who wants to apply for "Laura's Wish" can go here.

Source: http://www.am980.ca/news/local/story.aspx?ID=1820254

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