Aussie woman has miracle baby, born three years after his father had died.
Katie Elfar always wanted a big family. When she met Karim in 2007, Katie instantly knew he’d be the father of her children.
“The first time was a breeze,” Katie, 30, tells Woman’s Day. “I got pregnant within a month and Karim was delirious when we found out we were having a boy.”
But just two weeks after their first child, Oscar, arrived on June 30, 2009, their lives began to unravel.
“Karim had been for some scans because his back had been hurting… and the next thing we knew he was diagnosed with terminal cancer,” Katie says.
“It sounds crazy but the minute they started talking about chemo, I was thinking about babies,” she explains.
“I wanted more of Karim’s children and I knew we needed to freeze his sperm straight away.
“The doctors looked at me strangely but Karim understood and did it without question.”
Left: Karim with baby Oscar in hospital. Right: Karim and Katie during happier times
Karim, 50, lost his fight in November 2010, six months after marrying Katie in a beautiful backyard wedding ceremony. The cancer had spread into his bone marrow and blood.
Telling only her mum, Deborah, Katie had IVF using one of her embryos, with immediate success.
“I was nervous telling Karim’s family especially, but they were so happy,” she says.
Her baby son Beau was born on February 7, three years after his dad’s death.
“As he was handed to me, I cried. He looked so like Karim.”
Of course, she still misses her husband every day, but the boys’ mannerisms, smiles and laughter ensure his memory burns bright.
“Karim will always be close to us,” she says. “There’s a big photo of him in the boys’ room and they know he’s their daddy. As Beau grows up I’ll explain it to him – and until then, I enjoy being happy.”
