For any of you that don't know, Kyle and I are expecting twins, Presley and Marshall sometime in the next few days. However, I have not had the joy of weight gain, swollen ankles, and fetuses (sp?) assaulting me in the middle of the night...my surrogate has! So in case you don't know our story, here is how it all began, I apologize in advance for the length...
Kyle and I met in January of 2006, and were engaged on December 21, 2006. On December 31, 2006 we were in Austin for a wedding/New Years and that night I found a lump in my left breast, pretty big in size. Fast forward to the end of March and I had finally made an appointment with my gynocologist. She sent me for a mammogram/sonogram, which led to a biopsy, which led to a diagnosis on April 4, 2007 of "invasive ductal carcinoma" a.k.a breast cancer. Kyle and I were set to be married on November 3rd, and everything was already in motion. I even already had my dress! I had so many things planned and I didn't want anything to change. The doctors told me I was a good candidate for a lumpectomy, so a week after my diagnosis I had my surgery. Which would be followed by 18 weeks of chemo and 6.5 weeks of radiation.
While in pre-op, my gyno (sorry for the abbreviation) happened to walk by. She came over to me and asked if I had thought about freezing my eggs. Uh...no the thought hadn't crossed my mind! She made us an appointment with an AMAZING fertility doctor here in Fort Worth. At the time I didn't know that carrying my own children wouldn't be a good idea. Chemo can damage your eggs, so that is why we did it. Kyle and I were able to freeze three embryos, and so in the freezer they stayed for 2.5 years. During that time, I realized that since my cancer was estrogen/progesterone positive (those hormones were like food for my tumor), getting pregnant would not be a good idea for me and my health.
So in January 2009 we signed up with an agency in Dallas to help find a surrogate. Five months later, we had no one. My hope was dwindling, and the perfect time frame that I had worked out in my head was quickly coming to an end. The last weekend in May, I was in Katy visiting my parents. My mom had just been diagnosed with breast cancer herself and it was quite emotional. I got a call that weekend from a close friend of mine that I teach with. She told me that she and her husband had given it a lot of thought and they wanted to offer up her uterus for our baby to grow in! My mouth dropped open and I was speechless. All I kept saying was, "Are you sure?" I couldn't believe that our dreams might actually be coming true. Someone was not only volunteering to be our surrogate, but it was someone who I loved, trusted, AND I would get to see my baby everyday! Life couldn't be better!
The odds of all three embryos surviving the thaw was only 25%, but they made it! Four days later, on the day of the transfer, 2 of them had multiplied to 12 cells, and one was only 6 cells. We implanted the 2 good embryos and hoped/prayed for the best. Eleven days after the transfer, September 28th, we found out Sarah was pregnant. Deep down I never had a doubt in my mind. Then on October 16, we went in for our first ultrasound. Kyle and I had convinced ourselves it was twins, and low and behold we were right! Both embryos took! We couldn't believe how everything was working out. Then we found out we were having a boy AND a girl...I couldn't help but think God was trying to make up for everything he had put me through and was trying to be nice to me now. :)
Well, fast forward 9 months, and 2 hospital stays, 10 weeks of bedrest, and an abundant amount of doctor's visits and sonograms later...the babies will be here soon! She is 36 weeks and the official c section date is this Thursday, May 13. We go to the doctor tomorrow morning and if things have progressed, our doctor said she would take the babies tomorrow.
No amount of money, gifts, gym memberships, or cards would ever be able to express our gratitude towards Sarah and her family. They have made our dreams come true and given us the greatest gift of all. Hopefully the next time I post it will be with pictures of our precious babies!
Here are some pictures of the journey...
We're having twins!
9 weeks pregnant
20 weeks preggo
32 weeks, almost there!
Last dinner out as a family of two!
YAY!!! It looks great. I'm so glad you finally bit the bullet and started a blog.
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