Mother-of-six, 42, helps her gay brother and his fiancé realise their dream of having a baby together by becoming their surrogate after they spent £36,000 on IVF
Anthony Deegan, 38, and his fiancé Ray Williams, 30, were elated when Tracey Hulse, 42, put an end to their year-long search for a surrogate.
The couple knew their baby would be in safe hands as Tracey already had six children of her own.
The hopeful parents took out a £36,000 loan to fund three rounds of IVF using two anonymous egg donors. They welcomed baby Theo into the world on October 12 last year.
Both Anthony and Ray donated sperm but chose not to find out who is the biological father.
Anthony says his bond with his sister is stronger than ever before after she gave him the greatest gift of life.
Anthony, who owns a Subway franchise, said: ‘Tracey and I have always been close – we are more like best friends.
‘I walked her down the aisle on her wedding day as our dad couldn’t make it.
‘Then 17 years later, she introduced us to our son which will always be a special moment for us. We couldn’t repay Tracey, you can’t put a price on what she has done for us.’
Initially, the couple hoped to meet someone through social events hosted by a Surrogacy UK. But after a year, they hadn’t formed a bond with anyone and were beginning to lose hope.
They hadn’t even considered Tracey as she has half a dozen children of her own to look after.
Tracey, who is an Area Manager, said: ‘A year passed and they still hadn’t found a surrogate so I decided to help.
They created two separate batches of embryos using an anonymous egg donor and both of their sperm.
They’ve decided not to discuss who’s sperm was used to create Theo as he is ‘both’ of their son.
It was third time lucky for the couple after two rounds of IVF failed. Tracey said: ‘We were devastated when two pregnancy tests came back negative. But we never gave up.
Anthony praises his sister and fiancé for all working together as a ‘unit’.
He says they remained ‘on the same page’ at all times.
The couple were kept up to date with their babies movement with regular photos and videos.
They formed a bond with Theo whilst he was in the womb by recording themselves reading stories.
Tracey admits feeling ‘anxious’ ahead of Theo’s arrival in case he couldn’t settle with his dads.
But the anxiety instantly disappeared as little Theo, who weighed 7lb 9oz, was ‘content’ from the moment he was held by his dads.
Tracey’s heart is now filled with pride that she was able to help her brother and Ray become parents.
Source:
dailymail.co.uk, metro.co.uk
