On May 7, 2022, Jonathon and I had the privilege of attending An Intimate Evening with David Foster: A Night on Broadway. It was an incredibly special night with amazing performances and a live auction. This was a record-breaking evening raising $11.2 MILLION raised to support children requiring life-saving organ transplants.
Jonathon and I, representing the Jonathon D Fischer Foundation, received the humanitarians of the year award during this event and we couldn’t be more honored to received the award.
About two years ago The David Foster Foundation reached out to us and told us the incredible story of the Chen and Audia Families. The Chen family lost their daughter, Ailah, and gave the most selfless gift by donating her organs. At that same time, the Audia family desperately awaited a heart transplant for their daughter, Rosie. Rosie received a life-saving heart transplant because of the Chen’s choice in the most heart-wrenching circumstance. Kristen Chen lost her daughter and any hope to have another child because she had difficult pregnancies’ and ultimately chose to have a tubal ligation.
Several months later, due to the power of social media, the Chen and Audia families met with the assistance of the David Foster Foundation. At that time, Samantha Audia offered to be a surrogate for their family as a way to thank them for the selfless choice they made that saved her daughter. This connection brought the families together who share an undeniable bond and now live nearby to one another.
The David Foster Foundation reached out to us, and shared this inspiring story. It touched our hearts as we are unable to have children of our own. We believe that God connects people for a reason! Jonathon and I decided to fund the surrogacy process for the Audia and Chen families. In April, Samantha delivered a beautiful baby, Davos Chen.
For over two years, we were in communication with these two very special families over zoom and telephone. On May 7th, we all met for the first time at the David Foster Foundation event, and were able to hold sweet baby Davos Chen. Anais, Davos’ older brother, hugged us and thanked us, saying “because of you I have a baby brother.” It is unimaginable what these families have been through, but to see a new little life emerge from all of this and to see Rosie living with a donated heart, it is an incredible story of selfless love.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to meet these sweet families in person. It is such a reminder that God is faithful. There are people that He will put in our lives to help and will find a way to restore and heal our lives – there is hope!
You can read about this story in the National Post by clicking here.
Watch the Heart-To-Heart video where the Audia and Chen families meet for the first time by clicking here.
