Cayla,right,with Serina and baby Pearl. “I think Cayla felt a bit judged in hospital,as if she had to be the best she could be because she hadn’t gone through labour.”Credit:Elke Meitzel
Cayla: I first met Serina in 2011 in Cairns,when I started dating her little brother,Kailu. It was that “meet the family” moment. Serina’s almost a year older than me and we got along great from day dot. I do remember that she mocked me – she says I have a big nose,but I reckon she’s got a big nose,too. I wouldn’t say that too loudly,though;I’d back her in any fight.
I’m a professional basketball player. I play in the WNBL in Australia,the WNBA in America and for our national team,the Opals. That’s a big commitment,all year round,and I’ve been focused on that for a long time. But I’ve also been very clucky throughout my 20s.
I thought it might be a bit of a struggle to have kids because I’ve always had issues with my periods so,after the 2018 World Cup,I saw an IVF specialist in Melbourne. I was told I had good eggs,but might just need help ovulating. I was put on a fertility treatment and I remember trying to play;I was so nauseous the whole season that instead of drinking water on the sidelines I’d have lemongrass tea.
“I got to hold Pearl,skin-to-skin contact,first. It was beautiful,magical;there was a lot of moaning and crying.”
Cayla George
We tried to get pregnant,but it didn’t work and that knocked me about emotionally and physically. I was flat for months. Serina knew all about my struggles and she and her partner Nicholas had mentioned an idea to me:a Torres Strait tradition where they could gift me and Kailu a child. It’s the highest form of respect in their culture. A new law was even put in place in Queensland recently:the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa (Torres Strait Islander Traditional Child Rearing Practice) Act 2020,allowing for “Ailan Kastom” (or “island adoption”).
In March 2022,Serina told me she was nine weeks pregnant. If it was a boy they were going to keep him because they wanted their son to have a brother,but if it was a girl,they’d give her to us. We waited for that scan where the doctor says if it’s a meat and two veg or a hamburger – those were his words – and it was a hamburger!
Cayla with husband Kailu and Pearl.Credit:Courtesy of Cayla George
It was such an exciting time,but surreal,to be not pregnant but preparing for a child – buying car seats and nappies and having a baby shower. And to be nesting while playing games and doing national training camps in New York. A week and a half after winning a bronze medal in the World Cup in Sydney,I was in Cairns Hospital,holding Serina’s hand,and this bubba is getting pulled out,and she’smy bubba. I got to hold Pearl,skin-to-skin contact,first. It was beautiful,magical;there was a lot of moaning and crying.