After battling ๐๐๐๐๐๐ as a child, Alice was unable to carry a child – so her mum stepped in to help her.ย Imagine being able to help your daughter become a Mother, to give her the gift of life. Theresa Hohenhaus has done just that by carrying her grandson for her daughter.
Alice Hohenhaus was 20 when she first tried I.V.F to become pregnant.
Alice didn’t want to leave it up to fate so after seeing a fertility specialist she started rounds of I.V.F with a donor to fall pregnant.
๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ 23 ๐๐ข๐ก ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก 15 ๐ค๐๐๐๐ . ๐โ๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ โ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.ย ๐ด๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ก, ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ โ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ .
โI thought that was the end of the world. I couldnโt be a mum like I had always wanted,โ Alice, now 25 said.ย Thatโs when her selfless mother, Theresa, stepped in and offered to be a surrogate to make her daughterโs dreams a reality. Theresa is a mum to five biological children, as well as a foster mother to 50 children. The 46-year-old was more than happy to help her daughter become a mother, a role she had enjoyed for so much of her life.
‘Alice already had the embryos and I thought “why not?”,’ Theresa said.
‘I thought I was too old and Alice didn’t want me to do it at first but I had already almost ๐๐๐ ๐ก Alice twice before – she โ๐๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐๐ during her pregnancy and it was touch and go there for a while.
‘Making her happy and seeing her happy now is worth it.’
Aliceโs mum and dad, Craig, were on board with their eldest daughter trying to get pregnant, without a partner, as soon as she made her wishes known.
โMy parents are amazing people. For them it was a no-brainer, theyโve been through so much with me, they wanted to try and help,” she said.
At age 8 Alice was in remission when doctors tested her dad and sister to be a ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ in case she relapsed. With no matches, doctors asked Aliceโs parents if they would consider having another child.ย So James, now 20, was born to save his sister and was a perfect match when she needed a lifesaving transplant two years later.
โI had people telling me I was crazy for having children at this age, but my fertility specialist said she would rather help young people than older people because itโs easier,โ Alice said.
โI wanted to be a young mum, I always thought of having a big family.โ
Theresa knew she was pregnant straight away, having a kind of instant morning sickness, something she experienced with 5 of her own pregnancies.
Alice was by her mother’s side at every doctor’s appointment and scan, because she wanted to be there every step of the way as if it was her own pregnancy.
Thankfully everything went smoothly and the day of delivery finally arrived.ย Theresa was induced 2 weeks early at Ipswich hospital, 45 minutes away from Brisbane. Born on Thursday, June 2 at 5:30 pm, Parker is absolutely everything Alice wanted; he is perfect.
Alice has one more frozen embryo and Theresa has already offered to carry Parkerโs sibling when the time is right.
Reflecting on their unique journey, Alice still can’t believe what her mum did for her.
With Parker safely on his Grandmotherโs chest, the emotion and atmosphere in the room turned from nervousness to completely ELECTRIC!! After waiting for so many years and going through so much, Alice was finally a mother! And the tears certainly flowed.
โYou can never repay someone for doing something like that for you,โ Alice said. โDuring the birth, she said, donโt you ever ask me to do that again, she was in a lot of pain.
“But now she is eager to do it again, to give Parker a sibling. I said ‘let me try and raise this one first’.โ
“I would have to say it was the best experience of my whole life,” Theresa said.
Theresa did an incredible job at bringing Parker into the world and should be congratulated on giving her daughter such a wonderful gift. ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ is such a selfless act (particularly here in Australia where you cannot be paid for being a surrogate (outside of medical bills)) and this story shows that a mother’s love for their child knows no bounds!!!
BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Alice and Theresa on the arrival of Parker!ย And well done for sharing what truly is an inspirational example of a Motherโs unconditional love.