The Gift of Family

Out of the many stories we have heard about the struggles of infertility, this one really touched our hearts and brought us to tears. The beginning of the story of Kathy and Rob Adzich’s is a familiar one, a young happy couple starting out their lives together deciding to embark on the journey of having their own children. Quickly, they learn they are pregnant, but their story diverges from most when Kathy starts having contractions in her second trimester. The initial elation of expecting a baby is replaced by sorrow, when at 22 weeks, Kathy gives birth to a stillborn child.

They try again a few months later, but sadly, the couple is struck another blow as a second stillborn child is delivered at 16 weeks. The third pregnancy, Kathy is confined to bed rest and agrees to undergo the extreme step of having her cervix sewn shut to prevent a premature delivery. At 19 weeks, Kathy starts having contractions and with the help of powerful drugs, the delivery is postponed another month. The third child, Jakob, is born alive, but he is frail with underdeveloped lungs. He eventually passes away in Kathy’s arms at 3 weeks of age. Devastated, the Adzich’s leave the hospital without a baby for a third time in three years.

All the while, an angel named Stephanie Kalenda stood by watching thes traumatizing events unfold from her post as a labor and delivery nurse in the hospital where the Azdich’s event's took place. Days later Stephanie calls them with an amazing offer, “ I have a good uterus, let’s use it.” Stephanie explained that she had seen many people come in and out of the delivery center, and some were not fit to be parents whereas others were, and she assured the Adzich's that they were and she was going to help them become parents. And so their surrogacy journey together began as Stephanie was implanted with embryos from the couple and together they conceived beautiful baby, Gabe.

The Adzichs and Stephanie were invited on the Today show with Meridith Veira to talk about the miracle of surrogacy and how it bonded them and created the dream of a family. Please click here to see the video of this amazing story.