Episode 1 (Part 2) - Twins Via Surrogacy
EPISODE 2:
Twins via Surrogacy - Flying into a War Zone to Bring Them Home: My Fertility Story Part 2
Show Notes:
If you listened to Part 1, you know I left you on a cliffhanger. Here's where it picks up - and I promise you, nothing could have prepared me for this chapter.
After everything - the miscarriages, the rare ectopic pregnancy, the uterus damage, three rounds of IVF - surrogacy became our path forward. We chose Ukraine. My dad's side of the family is Ukrainian, and international surrogacy there meant our surrogate would actually be compensated well for the incredible gift she was giving us. We found Marina, and the second she told me she'd hold our baby "like a glass ball," I knew she was the one.
Marina got pregnant with our twins in 2021. And then, in early 2022, the war started. Our surrogate and babies were in Ukraine, and we made the decision to fly toward the war, not away from it.
In this episode, I talk about:
Marina, and why we knew instantly she was our person
Getting married in five days to make the Ukraine surrogacy process work
Racing to get embryos and sperm across borders before COVID shutdowns hit
Watching the news and realizing the country carrying our babies was about to be at war
Flying into Warsaw, taking a bus across the border, and the moment armed guards pulled us off it
Air raid sirens, a hospital bomb shelter, and meeting Marina in person for the first time
Babies born at 36 weeks, days after the invasion began
Getting Maverick and Savannah - and Marina - out of an active war zone
What it actually took to get our family home
This is the story I've never told publicly, and honestly, some of it still doesn't feel real to me even now. But it's also the reason this podcast exists - because if I can find a way through all of this, I want every one of you to know there's a way through your version of it too.
We're just getting started. This show is going to be full of real stories, real experts, and a whole community that gets it - because nobody should go through this feeling alone.
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Helpful Timestamps
00:00 Twins via Surrogacy
04:56 Choosing Ukraine
07:13 COVID Wedding Rush
10:49 Transfer And Twins
15:08 War Fears Escalate
23:05 Refugees in Warsaw
26:11 Crossing the Border to Ukraine by Bus
29:48 Meeting Marina at Hospital
33:36 Bunker Birth Day Chaos
37:27 NICU Bomb Threats and Car Seats
39:23 Escape Plan and Passports
42:37 Project Dynamo Rescue
45:56 Podcast Mission and Series