It is a joyful time at the Johnston’s home in Cambridge, Ont.
Cecelia is about to turn four years old, and she recently became a big sister.
“This past October we welcomed this little one into our lives and he has been an absolute miracle, an absolute miracle,” said an emotional Taunya Johnston.
The mother of two has struggled with infertility for nine years because of a chronic gastrointestinal illness.
READ MORE: Government-funded fertility: One Ontario family’s journey to grow
She conceived her daughter thanks to in vitro fertilization.
It was a costly process, but a necessary one.
So when their daughter turned one year old, they began the process to expand their family, knowing it could take time.
Rob Johnston told Global News in June 2016 that “she is going to be a big sister one way or another.”
The couple suffered two miscarriages before a healthy pregnancy with baby Tripp, who is now two months old.
“On Valentine’s Day we found out we were pregnant,” Taunya Johnston said. “We just feel so lucky.”
READ MORE: Here’s how successful your IVF cycles will be, according to a new study
The couple acknowledged they were able to continue on the path to parenthood thanks to a provincially funded program launched in December 2015.
“It saved us between 20 and 25 thousand dollars,” Johnston said.
Conceivable Dreams, a Toronto based fertility group, said Ontario has become a leader in fertility in Canada.
“We’ve seen many families formed as a result of the Ontario Fertility Program, we’ve seen greater access to the program and generally we’ve had a lot of good very positive reports,” said Paula Schuck, spokesperson for Conceivable Dreams.
“It has become the best example of a province to live in for fertility treatment,” she added.
A statement by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care noted, “The Ontario Fertility Program has been successful in helping people grow their families by increasing access to fertility services.”
According to the numbers provided by the Ministry, each year more than 5,000 patients are now able to access funded in vitro fertilization (IVF) services, compared with the fewer than 1,000 patients previously accessing insured IVF under OHIP each year.
The Ministry added, since it began in December 2015, more than 28,000 people have utilized IVF, IUI and FP services, at a cost of $70 million a year.
The Hannam Fertility Clinic is one of 48 clinics participating in the program.
Dr. Thomas Hannam said the wait list for funded services is “about three years long” because of his clinic’s success rate.
READ MORE: Men have a biological clock, too. Here’s when their fertility declines
“We actually generate a lot of embryos for each IVF and so many people are going to be able to have 1, 2, 3 children from that single funded IVF,” he noted. “This will easily save people 20 thousand dollars.”
The program isn’t perfect. Dr. Hannam said it’s a “work in progress.”
“Sometimes a single IVF isn’t sufficient, a person needs a second cycle so there’s always that element to it, but it’s a lot better than it was,” he said.
For the Johnstons, it’s meant growing their family without the financial burden.
“We have this little person here as a result of it so it’s made a huge impact on our life,” Taunya remarked, as she cradles her sleeping baby in her arms.
“We are so grateful for the program because you can’t put a price tag on creating a family.”