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Special delivery ... little Emily has so much to be thankful for |
A GRANDMOTHER has given birth to her own daughter's baby girl - after cancer forced the young would-be mum to seek a surrogate. Cindy Reutzel, 53, delivered the healthy tot, named Elle, this week.
Her daughter Emily Jordan and husband Mike had given up all hope of having their own kids after Emily was diagnosed with cervical cancer just over two years ago.  |
Precious gift ... Cindy helps her daughter know the joy of motherhood |
Then 29, Emily was about to undergo a radical hysterectomy when she was told she was pregnant. Faced with saving her own life or their unborn child's, the young couple made the excruciating decision to go forward with her surgery. It meant losing the baby, and forfeiting any chance to become parents.
Emily's mum Cindy had heard of older female surrogates so when doctors shared the good news that they had been able to save Emily's ovaries, she immediately made the offer in Chicago, USA.
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Proud parents ... Emily and Mike pose with their beloved daughter |
"What if I carried your baby for you?" she asked.
Emily and Mike didn't take it too seriously at first. "We didn't really think that was a realistic option" says Emily, who works in hospital administration.
But after a process that included psychological evaluation and hormonal manipulation to prepare their bodies, doctors eventually implanted Cindy's uterus with an embryo created with an egg from Emily and Mike's sperm.
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Grateful ... Emily pats her mother Cindy's bump at home in Chicago |
As Cindy's bump grew, people started asking about "her baby". But she was quick to tell them the unlikely story that this was not her baby; she was Grandma. Admittedly, she says, she worried about the physical toll pregnancy might take, though her body handled it better than she expected.
She also wondered how well she'd bounce back from a Caesarean section. That's how she had delivered Emily and her older brother, but that had been three decades ago.
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Routine ... Emily and Elle are now settling into life together after her unusual birth |
Still, she reassured Emily and Mike throughout the pregnancy that the baby was fine, she was fine, everything would be fine.
Last week, a few days after Emily's 32nd birthday, daughter sat next to mother, holding hands in the delivery room and Elle Cynthia Jordan was born.
"She looks just like you! She looks just like you!" Emily shouted, running from the delivery room to introduce their newborn to Mike.
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Happy to help ... Cindy and Emily chat before the birth in August |
Cindy is now recovering well and even says she'd consider doing it AGAIN.
"When I watch both of them hold that baby and look into her face, it's like everything I could have imagined wanting for them - better than I could have imagined," she says, her eyes filling with tears.
"This is what it was all about for me".
THE SUN
