Ellidy Pullin reveals race to retrieve Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin’s sperm after tragic death
Ellidy Pullin reveals her race to retrieve Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin’s sperm after his tragic death
Ellidy Pullin is candid about her emotional race to retrieve her late husband’s sperm for an incredible IVF journey.
The Gold Coast model, 30, endured a heartbreaking tragedy in 2020 when her partner, snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, drowned while spearfishing off Gold Coast’s Palm Beach.
Speaking on her podcast Honey, shine! on Tuesday, the author described her race against time to retrieve his sperm hours later so she could conceive the child they sought before his death.
Ellidy, who was with the Olympian for eight years, revealed that the whole process was actually initiated by her good friend and Australian pro surfer Laura Enever.
“We started looking into it and we found out there wasn’t much time. It was 36 hours or something [the procedure] had to be done,” Laura said on the podcast.
Ellidy Pullin is candid about her emotional race to retrieve her late husband’s sperm for an incredible IVF journey. Pictured with snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin
She went on to say that she “didn’t know how to handle the situation” as Ellidy and Chumpy’s family grieved, “but knew it had to be done quickly.”
So the next morning I get up – and I called Chloe Fisher [Ellidy’s friend and co-host] and was like, “You guys need to think about this. You can collect semen, but it has to be done today,” added Laura.
Ellidy went on to explain that Chloe went through four IVF clinics before finding one willing to perform the procedure.
The Gold Coast model, 30, suffered heartbreaking tragedy in 2020 when her partner, snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, drowned while spearfishing off Gold Coast’s Palm Beach
Fortunately, with only 10 hours left in the 36-hour window, Dr. Davidson was able to retrieve Chumpy’s semen post mortem.
About seven months after Chumpy passed away at age 32, Ellidy fathered daughter Minnie Alex Pullin during her second round of IVF treatments.
Two-time Snowboard Cross World Champion, Chumpy was Australia’s flag bearer at Sochi in 2014 and a mentor to many up and coming snowboarders.
Speaking on her podcast Darling, Shine! on Tuesday, the author described her race against time to retrieve his sperm hours later so she could conceive the child they sought before his death. Pictured with daughter Minnie
Chumpy drowned on July 8, 2020 in Palm Beach on the Gold Coast. Minnie was born in October 2021.
It is believed he was spearfishing alone on an artificial reef on the beach when he was spotted on the ocean floor by a snorkeler.
He was a two-time World Boardercross Champion and represented Australia at three Winter Olympics.
Just hours after Pullin’s death, Ellidy’s quick-thinking brother and friends mentioned the semen retrieval process. The retrieval of sperm from a body can take place up to 36 hours after death.
Ellidy explained that after Chumpy’s death, she only had 36 hours to collect his sperm and was rejected by four IVF clinics before her friends found one that could pull it off with 10 hours left on the clock.