Meet Zhengfan + Emily
Our Story
Zhengfan and Emily are engineers living in the Bay Area CA. We have a lovely daughter Sophia with special needs due to a rare genetic disease. We are a small family of three with a lot of love and care for each other. Shortly after Sophia was born, Emily quit her job to care for her full time.
We met in a local recreational activity of crab fishing in the Bay Area. Zhengfan was shy and didn’t talk much when we first met. Afterward he asked me out to badminton and hiking with some other friends. We gradually got to know each other better.
Meet Zhengfan
About Zhengfan (In Emily’s words)— Zhengfan has a kind heart and is very patient with kids. He’s brilliant in science and got his PhD in Physics. As a guy, he is not super talkative and a little shy with unfamiliar people. Once you get to know him, you will find him very candid and trustworthy as a friend. He loves nature and enjoys traveling around the world. His hobbies involve studying the Origin of the Universe, hiking, watching movies (the next one he plans to watch is Inside Out 2) and trying out new restaurants.
Meet Emily
About Emily (In Zhengfan’s words)— Emily is a kind person and devoted mother. She loves our daughter Sophia at a very deep level. She can do a lot of amazing things with Sophia. She taught Sophia to play piano, which surprised many others due to Sophia’s disabilities. Sophia’s special ed teachers acknowledge there is a strong bond between Emily and Sophia. Emily helps Sophia develop life skills that her special ed teachers cannot. Besides being a wonderful mom, she is meticulous in keeping the home in order and cares for every family member’s well being. She loves music and art. She enjoys hiking and sightseeing.
Why Surrogacy?
Emily had a large fibroid which made her anemic for many years. It was recently removed through an open surgery in late June of 2024, but it left her uterus fragile for carrying babies. She also has hypothyroid and other medical complications. Due to her age and medical conditions, surrogacy is the safest option for her and her babies.
Sophia:
In the Fall of 2011 our beautiful daughter Sophia was born full term with a weight of 8lb 4oz. Our hearts were filled with joy! When she grew a little older, we noticed her eyes didn’t follow objects like other babies and hence took her to see a new pediatrician. After numerous appointments and labs with specialists at different hospitals, we were told she was blind. It was heartbreaking news to everybody in our family. She was diagnosed with a very rare genetic disease and both parents happened to be carriers of the recessive mutations. Her development couldn’t catch up with her peers either, and later was diagnosed with ASD. The director from a local blind center told us, about two thirds of children with visual impairment have additional disabilities unfortunately.
Despite all the challenges Sophia faces everyday, she is optimistic and loves to laugh. Since then we’ve become firm advocates for her! We strongly believe her life shouldn’t be limited by her disabilities and she shall have the opportunity to explore the world full of excitement and joy. We took her to music classes, gym for toddlers, swimming classes, pony rides, etc. She went to Disney World and Universal studio in Orlando FL when she turned 3, where she spoke her first words “banana” and “jerky”, lol. Yes, Sophia loves food just like her parents! Our family has traveled together to national parks in the U.S. like Crater Lake, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and foreign countries like France, Japan, Panama, Tahiti, China, etc. We’ve been to all islands of Hawaii and Sophia got the chance to visit the beach where Daddy and Mommy got married! Sophia climbed up all the way up to Diamond Peak despite her hypotonia with Daddy’s help:)
Through our unique journey of raising a child with multiple disabilities, we learned unconditional love and unlimited patience. It gives us a bigger heart and helps us become better human beings. We shall give the same unconditional love to all our kids if we were able to have more through surrogacy.
Fun Facts
Occupations: Two engineers gave birth to a musician child with perfect pitch! The whole family are gourmets and relish foods of different kinds.
Clinic you are using: Reproductive Science Center and Spring Fertility