All this week, for Mothers’s Day, we’ve been sharing the stories of some of the women who are now mums thanks to an Altrui donor.
These beautiful words speak for themselves. You can see some of them on our Facebook page and here are some more.
Being a Mother - Catherine
My son’s beautiful smile when he sees me. Smiling back at him. Hearing him giggling when I chase him on all fours. Listening to him happily chattering away to himself. Seeing him discover his hands and feet. Watching his amazement as he stands for the first time. Seeing his excitement as our cats go racing by. Showing him the sea. Sitting with him in the garden. Cuddling him when he is upset. Laughing with him when he splashes in the bath. Helping him eat his favourite food – hearing him mmm in approval. Playing building blocks together. Stroking his hair when he is tired. Resting our heads together. Watching him sleep peacefully after a busy day exploring his world and all the new things in it. None of this would have been possible without our wonderful donor.
Fiona
When my GP told me I wouldn’t be able to have children I was completely shocked. I was 26 and although I wasn’t thinking about starting a family at that time, it was something that I had assumed would happen at some point. In that moment my thoughts of having a family were taken away - not just from me, but also from my partner. I was devastated. Since then it’s been a rocky journey, but as I sit and write this, five years since that initial appointment, I have been given the most amazing opportunity. I am pregnant with a baby due this summer, and eternally grateful to our egg donor who has given myself and my partner the opportunity to become parents. I may never know any more about our donor than the snippets of information provided through Altrui, but she will never be far from my thoughts. I hope that she (and other egg donors out there) know just how appreciated and life changing it is to be the recipient donor eggs.
Michele
Our baby is due next month and neither of us can quite believe we are in this lucky position. We have a daughter whom we conceived naturally but, despite many years of trying (and many different methods - acupuncture, Chinese tea, no booze, no caffeine, IVF etc), we were unable successfully to have a second child. Our daughter longed for a sibling and had suggested her own ideas which we might try (“you could knit one, Mummy”; “why don’t you just eat more and get fat, Mum, then a baby will come out?”). We longed for a second child to complete our family and for our daughter to have her much yearned-for sibling. Altrui and our special, wonderful donor have made this possible.
With Mothers’ Day approaching, we feel blessed that, if all goes well, we shall have two little visitors to our bed on Mothers’ Day morning next year and that, this year, we can enjoy talking through how life will be when Bump emerges with a very excited little girl.
Catherine
Soon I will be enjoying my first Mother’s day which will be a very happy day for me. When I found out that I was infertile, my life was turned upside down as having a child was something I had dreamt about since I was a young girl. I have always been a very maternal person and I chose a career working with children. The realisation that I could not have children was so painful, and over the years I watched my friends and family around me all having children with apparent ease and I wondered - why me? However, meeting Alison from Altrui gave me hope of the possibility of my dream coming true with the help of an egg donor.
I am now so lucky as with the assistance of an altruistic egg donor my husband and I have a beautiful baby boy. The selfless gift that our egg donor gave us has changed our lives forever and the painful hole in my heart has now disappeared. Our lives feel complete and every day I wake up and can’t wait to see our son and enjoy his smiles. Our egg donor has given us so much happiness and has made the most amazing experience in my life possible, being a Mum.
Sarah
The mother who enabled my husband and I to have a much longed for child is indeed an angel. To give the gift of life is the biggest and most blessed thing one can do for someone else. We now have a son who has changed our lives in the most astonishing way, a child, an angel, a son, a member of our family — we are now a family! I will never be able to thank our donor enough, I keep her in my prayers and though at times it is hard to believe that my child isn’t 100% me, I will never be able to forget the generosity of somebody and of course their family. It is so much more than giving an egg, it is a huge impact on yourself, family and partners, it is time from your life in thought and time. You give a part of you for no return except the assurance that you have changed someones life for the better.
These people are blessed.
