A mum has spoken of her eternal gratitude to the late music legend George Michael, whose generous donation made it possible for her to have her ‘miracle’ child.
Jo Maidment has gone public with her story, six years after receiving an anonymous donation from the star, for IVF treatment.
Jo initially appeared on This Morning back in 2010, detailing her struggle to conceive naturally, in the hopes that it would help other couples.
Shortly after the broadcast, she received a phone call informing her that a ‘businessman’ wanted to help fund her IVF treatment.
As it turned out, that ‘businessman’ was George Michael, and he went on to fund the cycle of IVF that led to the birth of Jo’s daughter, Betsy, in 2012.
With the permission of the singer’s family, Jo this week recalled the moment she and her husband discovered it was George who made their dream of becoming parents a reality.
"It was a couple of days after we came home with Betsy, and we had loads of cards and flowers. There was a massive bouquet of flowers that came, and I read the card that said, 'Congratulations to you both. Lots of love to Betsy. Love from Michelle (the singer’s PA) and George Michael (AKA Anonymous) xx'. Me and my husband read it hundreds of times to believe it,” said Jo.
While Jo’s story has touched hearts all over the world, it seems hers is not unique; countless other individuals have come forward to share their own accounts of the singer’s incredible generosity.
It has since emerged that Michael also donated money to Lynette Gillard, a Deal Or No Deal contestant who shared the story of her own struggle to conceive on national TV.
After receiving an anonymous donation from Michael, Lynette was able to undergo the blood test that identified the reason behind her inability to conceive naturally.
Of course, Michael passed away on Christmas Day, at the aged of 53, from heart failure.
