Video Courtesy of KSL.com
December 19th, 2008 @ 10:07pm, By Ed Yeates
A Utah woman has given her brother and his wife the ultimate gift. David and Julie Hendrickson have twins for Christmas this year because of something very special David's sister did for them.
Alyson Colton
Alyson Colton gave birth to the twin boys last week, about six and a half weeks early. Fertilized eggs from David and Julie were transferred to Alyson, who carried the infants until they were born.
"Three days later, I think, Alyson was still in the hospital recovering, and I just looked at her and [said], ‘I just want you to know I appreciate this so much,'" Julie said.
"I couldn't begin to comprehend the gratitude that I now feel," David said.
Why did Alyson, the mother of three daughters, become the surrogate? Julie has Cystic Fibrosis. A pregnancy could have been too hard on her system, actually damaging the cells of her lungs even more.
"I just felt like this is something I was supposed to do in my life. Julie couldn't do the pregnancies, so I had to bring them into the world for her, and now they're here," Alyson said.
Benjamin and Jackson
Many couples, where one partner has CF, have children via in vitro fertilization. That group includes Julie's brother, who believed kids bring home a special kind of therapy.
"Physically, yeah, the cards don't look like it's going to work out right, but her brother James said when you get married and you have kids, you have something to live for every day," David said. "Maybe in a subconscious, selfish frame of mind I thought: I want to have something from Julie for the rest of my life."
A husband and wife who cherish the time they have together, long or short, and a sister who's made it possible to fill that life even more. "What a blessing. What a great gift. This will be a Christmas never to forget," David said.
If Benjamin and Jackson continue putting on weight as they are now, they'll most likely be going home just after the first of the year. The roots of their names come from all three families.
E-mail eyeates@ksl.com
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