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Our COTQ series is meant to highlight the different aspects of what it means to be in a partnership when one or both people are runners and do we ever have a power couple to feature today in Jonelle Koop-Yumang and Melvin Yumang.
Melvin is the runner of their duo but as you’re about to hear, his 6-year running journey has aligned very closely with the couple’s fertility journey…and what a wild ride it has been for them! Their story is filled with love, loss, grief, hope, setbacks, serendipity, more hope, more setbacks, and eventually an 8-lb 2-oz miracle in the form of baby Jameson, who at 4.5 months can be heard cooing in the background for most of this interview.
Fertility can understandably be a sensitive topic and we want to put that disclaimer on this episode. For many years Jonelle & Melvin kept their struggles private, but baby Jameson is a direct result of letting their guards down and in that sense they’ve found unexpected beauty in opening up and being vulnerable.
Resources we discussed in the episode:
- Arli Cruikshank | Running Through Surrogacy
- Couple of the Quarter | Bo Huang & Mingdi Zhou
- Jonelle's tumor: Myxopapillary Ependymoma
- Embryo adoption (US)
- Embryo donation (Canada)
Connect with Melvin & Jonelle:
- Instagram: @emjaywhy
Connect with Carolyn & Kim:
- Email us with guest ideas: inspiredsolescast@gmail.com
- Inspired Soles Instagram
- Kim's Instagram
- Kim's Facebook
- Carolyn's Instagram
- Carolyn's Facebook
You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to inspiredsolescast@gmail.com.
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