Speaker

Nicole Lawson @BabyQuestGrants fb

Like many young females, I pictured myself going to college, beginning a career, meeting a great partner, planning a storybook wedding, and eventually having children. At 28, I was well on my way, having become a television executive with a wonderful husband and living in a cute, modest house with a white picket fence. My plans were on schedule until I tried to have a baby.

Three years later, my body was riddled with hormones and fatigued from several IUI (artificial insemination) attempts, three successful IVF's each ending with a miscarriage, and two invasive uterine surgeries. I was then confronted with the ugly truth: I had a uterus that would most likely not allow me to carry the one thing I wanted so badly in the world. Years of tears and anguish had left my husband and me frustrated and without savings to continue our pursuit.

Our desperate journey then took a positive turn. With financial support from parents, my husband and I hired a surrogate to carry our biological child. Today as I look at our beautiful daughter, I realize we were the lucky ones. With money, we escaped our nightmare.
For me, the fulfillment of my dream - as sweet as it may be - is also unsettling. I understand the anguish felt by so many who cannot afford to pursue even the initial fertility procedures that could aid conception.

In my current work, both as a case worker for a Los Angeles based surrogacy agency and as co-founder of Baby Quest, I understand the necessity of making advanced procedures a reality rather than a dream.