We are Christian and Diane Ahlstrom and would love to eventually adopt children although we are undecided on how many for now. We were married in February of 2023 and have been dating since June 2018. Christian is a Chicago native and Diane was born in Japan but moved to upstate New York at a young age and grew up there. Both moved around for school and work but landed in San Diego, California where they met and now call home. Christian is an athletic trainer with UCSD and currently working on his PhD for Health and Human Performance. Diane works remotely for a bio-tech company in San Diego in a regulatory/compliance specialist role.
Both Diane and Christian knew that eventually they would love to start a family. Due to Diane’s battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma in her early twenties that involved chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and two stem cell transplants to finally achieve remission in 2017 and current chronic illness of Graft Vs. Host Disease (GVHD), a natural birth was never a possibility. Christian confirmed that he was the one for Diane when he made it clear that blood relation wasn’t important to him. His desire for having children was about passing down the wisdom, values and guidance to their future children to create more kind and loving humans in the world.
For their wedding gift, they requested that instead of any gifts, their loved ones donate towards a future adoption of their first child. This family account is being set up to make these donations possible. Even if you are not friends or family, if this story touches your heart, Diane and Christian appreciate any level of donation provided to make their dream a reality.
