Cross-border family 'lucky' to be reunited but saga isn't over

A cross-border couple that wasseparatedahead of the birth of their first child due to the pandemicaregrateful to be reunited inMichigan.

Ashley Cook is currently staying inPetoskey, Mich., with her four-month-old daughter and husband Tom.

"There's a lot of people out there who still don't have that and we're just lucky that we were able to make it happen," she said in a recent interview.

Cook first spoke toCBCNews about the family's ordeal earlier this year.

A doctor who is originally from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, Cookmoved toWindsorto be closer to her husband, who is also a doctor in Michigan.

As the couple explained, theywereforced to live apart when COVID-19 struckand they were uncertain if the closure of the borderwould be lifted in time for them to be together for their child's birth.

Even though Cook was at risk for a pre-term birth and her spousepresented anote from theirobstetrician at the border,he was not allowed to enter Canada.

"They actually asked me if Ashley had supportand I told them her family was a significant distance away and they were self-isolating so she really hasn't seen anyone," Tom said in a previous interview.

"That's when I was pretty sure that I was going to be allowed access. But they just kind of called me up at the end, said thatI wasn't qualified as essential by their standards."

Eventually, after the government announced it would allow immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents to enter the country, Tom wasallowed to come to Canadaand complete a two-week quarantine ahead of Ashley'sscheduled induction date.

Reuniting again in Michiganlater on was another hurdle.The couplemet upat the border when the babywas about three weeks old, Cook explained.Shewasn't allowed to enter but she was permitted to bring her daughter across the border.

"I literally saw my husband, gave him a hug, did a hand-off of the baby," she said.

That was a low point in the year for Cook, who said she was crying "hysterically" at the time. She wasthen was able to enter the country by flying toDetroit from Toronto.

But, Cookexplained, the family'ssaga isn't over yet. Shewill remain inU.S. until March since there's a limit on how long she can stay legally.

For now, they're enjoying the time they have together and trying not to think about it.

"Hopefully by that time we'll have a really big rollout of the coronavirus vaccinations and maybe we'll start to havesome changes in terms of ease of movement at the border," she said.

While the year had its lows, the high point of the year, of course, was the birth of baby Imogen.

The couple had been trying to conceive for four years and Cook went throughmultiple rounds of in-vitro fertilization, including a few trips to Spain for the treatment.

Cook describedher as "perfect" and saidshe sleeps 12 hours a night.

"She's exceptionally content and happy, she's always giggling. She's a dream."