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Zara
Griswold
- Founder My journey through surrogacy began in early 2002. Eight years previous, when I was 23 years old, I had a total hysterectomy due to ovarian cancer; therefore, I had known for quite a while that I would never bear children. Still, to be quite honest, the idea to pursue third party reproduction had never entered my mind until this very point in time. My husband and I originally planned to adopt. But when we attended the adoption agency orientation, we learned they required couples to be married a minimum of two years—and we had only been married for about one year. While we were waiting for another year to pass, a friend suggested surrogacy and I began to thoroughly research surrogacy and egg donation. The more I learned, the more the idea appealed to me, and the more convinced I became that this was the way we should create our family. This was an exciting time, but it was also very stressful on many levels. I can remember, like it was yesterday, the feeling of sheer panic as we began to navigate through the maze of red tape that lie before us. We forged ahead with our plan, however, and ended up matching with a wonderful and dedicated Gestational Surrogate. In the fall of 2002, we did our egg retrieval and transfer, and we welcomed our beautiful boy/girl twins into our arms the following summer. No words can describe our level of joy and fulfillment on this miraculous day. As a former high school English teacher, I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in Education from Northern Illinois University. I am also the author of Surrogacy Was the Way: Twenty Intended Mothers Tell Their Stories, which was published in January, 2006. My passion for educating and supporting others, along with my personal interest in surrogacy and egg donation, is what inspired me to write this book. Doing so has been an incredibly positive experience, and one that has further enabled me to meet more fascinating and awe inspiring people in this life-time. My involvement in the world of infertility has, additionally, led me to the position of Education Director on the Board of the Illinois Local Area Affiliate (LAA) of the Great Lakes Region of RESOLVE. Finally, the knowledge and expertise I have gained by having children through surrogacy and egg donation, combined with my enthusiasm for third party reproduction as a means to family building, has prompted me to found Family Source Consultants. I am forever grateful that I was able to realize my dreams through this alternate route to parenthood. And now it is my mission to help others achieve their dreams as well.
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Staci Swiderski -
Founder In 1997, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer the second month of my pregnancy. It was my third child, and although not expecting the pregnancy, it was such a blessing in many ways. If I hadn’t become pregnant, who knows how far the cancer would have escalated before it was detected, considering I wasn't due for quite sometime for my yearly check-up. I was monitored closely at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago throughout my pregnancy, with appointments every eight weeks until my son was delivered via emergency C-section almost 9 weeks early. Two months after the delivery of my son, I underwent a hysterectomy to remove any cancer that was present, not knowing before the surgery if I would need a complete or partial hysterectomy. I was pleased to hear when I awoke from the surgery that I had a partial hysterectomy (removing only my uterus) and I was then cancer free! This is what drew me to surrogacy just three years later. In 2000, I began extensively researching Gestational Surrogacy, knowing this was the route that my husband and I would be taking if we did chose to add to our family. Although I knew that Surrogacy would be quite stressful and overwhelming, I was prepared for what lie ahead... I continued to educate myself on surrogacy and began actively searching for a Gestational Surrogate at the end of 2001. While trying to remain confident, my husband and I were faced with many hurdles, heartaches and complications along the way. After three years of several egg retrievals and four embryo transfers, we welcomed our beautiful, healthy and miraculous son into the world, via Gestational Surrogacy. I cannot even begin to describe the happiness that I felt that day, it was like living in a dream. All throughout my journey amongst surrogacy, before our Gestational Surrogate actually became pregnant, and to this very day, I have met an abundance of unfortunate people who have faced infertility. Experiencing infertility myself and being a former Intended Mother, I completely understand the feelings of frustration, lack of control and helplessness that one experiences. With my expertise on assisted reproduction and enormous compassion for the infertile community, I felt compelled to open the doors to Family Source Consultants.
With my story being quite unique as an Intended
Mother myself that had gone through years of
infertility, I am honored to say that AFTER my son
was born via Gestational Surrogacy in 2005, I had
the opportunity to help a couple who faced
infertility themselves by becoming their Egg Donor,
resulting in their adorable son born in 2007. Being
an Egg Donor myself, I can completely relate
first-hand to the wonderful young women in our
program who are Egg Donors themselves. I am also a
proud volunteer for |
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Alicia Vaillancourt I am a married mother of two, and it has been my desire for several years to help other individuals achieve their lifelong goal of becoming parents. I have been blessed as a Gestational Surrogate and also an Egg Donor. I have carried for two families as a Gestational Surrogate. My first experience was amazing and I delivered boy/girl twins in June 2003, which created a new family and expanded my own. This experience as a Gestational Surrogate also involved the use of a known Egg Donor. As the recipient of the Donor eggs, and due to my very close relationship with the couple, I shared many of the anxieties, excitement and emotions related to using an Egg Donor. Our Donor cycle was a great success and the resulting birth was very profound and touched my heart. It was this experience that brought me to the decision to also become an Egg Donor. In 2004, I was matched with a couple via my local clinic and proceeded to help create a miracle pregnancy. I have also been a Donor for a couple in Athens Greece, done a sibling cycle for my first couple, and I also will be donating again in the future to a same sex couple and their Gestational Surrogate. My second experience as a Gestational Surrogate was to help complete an already loving family and I delivered a singleton in May 2006. Both of my Surrogacy journeys, although very different experiences, were incredibly fulfilling. Each journey is diverse and unique, it is important to have a strong support system and place to turn for guidance. I am part of the team with Family Source Consultants to offer that one on one guidance and support as a Surrogate and Egg Donor Liaison. As a Gestational Surrogate and an Egg Donor, I have been fortunate enough to help create and complete many families. In my position as Surrogate Liaison, I am able to take my extensive knowledge and experience and reach out to help many individuals at once. I have always said I wished there was a way to help everyone who needed a third party to complete their family. This position brings me much closer to that ideal.
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