Heartstrong: Chumpy, Minnie & Me

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Family, friends, lawyers and doctors helped to give Ellidy the chance to keep a small part of Chumpy alive. Look, the worst possible thing you could imagine happened,” she told Kylie Gillies of Chumpy’s death, aged just 32. Ellidy hopes that by sharing her story, other women who may one day lose their partners through accident or chronic illness will not necessarily lose the chance of having their partner's baby. And later that day, amid the whirl of activity, in the shock of grief, she has another thought: What if I'm pregnant? As it turned out, Ellidy wasn't pregnant, but 15 months after Chumpy's death she gave birth to his baby.

Ellidy Pullin | 9780733649226 | Booktopia Heartstrong eBook by Ellidy Pullin | 9780733649226 | Booktopia

In the days that followed Alex "Chumpy" Pullin's death, tributes flowed for one of Australia's most recognisable winter athletes. Thirty-six hours after losing him, she was offered the chance to keep a small part of Chumpy alive - and made the decision to harvest his sperm posthumously.A Gold Coast fertility surgeon, Andrew Davidson, carried out the procedure, racing to recover and then freeze viable sperm.

Ellidy Pullin and Alley Pascoe - Book - Kmart Heartstrong by Ellidy Pullin and Alley Pascoe - Book - Kmart

As many others have said, it truly encapsulates the raw truth about grief, and the journey of losing a loved one, but beyond all else, it is a book filled with hope and light amidst the darkness. In the hours that followed a suggestion was made: did Ellidy want to harvest Chumpy’s sperm and try for the baby they both wanted so deeply?They'd recently lost their partner in an accident, and, having followed Ellidy's story, had asked for sperm retrieval.

Heartstrong by Ellidy Pullin - Books - Hachette Australia

If I can help other people who are grieving, teach or show people how they can celebrate a life that’s no longer here and keep that person’s memory alive, or normalise talking about grief, I’ll do that. I’m so sorry for all of the loss that has followed you in the last few years but I’m truly grateful you are both here. Heartstrong is just such an unforgettable book about love, joy, loss, grief, hope and finding a way to keep going in the darkest of times. This story has truly truly touched my soul and I don’t think I’ll be forgetting what I’ve read any time soon.I used to think that everything happens for a reason, but I have known a lot of people that have gone through really horrible things and losing their lives young over the past 2-3 years, so my mind shift has definitely changed to sometimes really shit things just happen to the best of people which just breaks my heart. Heartstrong is an unforgettable book about love, joy, grief, hope and finding a way to keep going in the darkest of times. I felt so much love and hope as well, and Minnie, Ellidy's daughter, is such a beautiful example of a rainbow after a storm. The sperm retrieval idea came to me and the family; we were in so much shock but the answer was, yes, let’s do this.

Heart strong: Ellidy Pullin on the life-shifting loss of her

The pair had just bought their dream home on the Gold Coast and were trying for a baby when tragedy struck. It is just so clear that they are such a beautiful family and I think it was really special that they shared some intimate family memories - I feel honored to have read them.In the hours that followed a suggestion was made, did Ellidy want to harvest Chumpy's sperm and try for the baby they both wanted so deeply? In that moment, the "crazy, weird decision" of sperm retrieval was simply about the option of having Chumpy's baby in the future. She had only hours to make the decision about harvesting Chumpy’s sperm, describing it as a “weird” decision but the right one. I can't imagine from Ellidy's perspective how it would have felt from losing the love of her life and beginning her pregancy journey alone. I was swept up in El’s and Chumps story, i had loosely followed it in the media but wasn’t fully across it.