14 DAY TRIAL // Emily and Mike Jordan never thought they would be able to have their own children until Emily's mother offered to act as a surrogate.
31-year-old Emily had been diagnosed with cervical cancer, io9 reports. At 29, she was forced to undergo a hysterectomy, but, right before that, doctors told her she was pregnant. The couple was forced to temporarily give up the dream of having children, as Emily's life was at stake.
The radical operation left her without a uterus, and she believed her chance of being a mother went away with it. The doctors had managed to keep Emily's ovaries intact, however, giving her the option of using a surrogate.
One wasn't hard to find. Her mother, 53 year-old Cindy Reutzel was keen to help. She did her research on in-vitro fertilization and subjected herself to numerous clinical tests to determine if she was apt for the job.
It turned out that, due to her good physical condition, the fit grandmother was a viable option for the position of surrogate. As an executive director at a medical foundation, Cindy didn't feel scared by this process.
Reutzel's uterus was implanted with her daughter's fecundated ovule, and, 9 months later, Chicago doctors witnessed a miracle of science and love.
In-vitro fertilization was first implemented in Great Britain, some 34 years ago. Since then, this process has helped many menopausal women in their 30's, 40's and 50's to bear children.
Another success story is that of a grandmother's in Brasil, who remarkably gave birth to her daughter's twins in 2007.
On September 5th, a cesarean operation was performed and little Elle Cynthia was introduced to the world.
Cindy Reutzel's body is already bouncing back from the surgery, and she feels no regret for the decision she made.
"The thought of Emily and Mike not being able to have children and share that piece of their lives with someone just broke my heart. [...]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," this mother/grandmother said to the Huffington Post.
Her eyes were filling up with tears.