My name is [Her name], I'm a single parent-to-be by choice, highly educated (2 masters degrees and undergraduate in engineering) type A personality, and I lead an active lifestyle surrounded by amazing family and friends. To be honest, I never thought I'd be on the journey to embryo adoption becuase I am a planner, and let's just say this was not in the plan.

 

I have an amazing relationship with my family and have always known I wanted to have a child. However, as a lifelong achiever, my career progression has also been a top priority. In 2016, after returning to the US from a work assignment overseas in Australia, I decided I wanted to secure my future of having a family. While I was not ready for children and not in a committed/serious relationship at the time, I wanted to take full advantage of my corporate benefits and chose to harvest and freeze my eggs. Over the next 8 years my career in medical devices flourished and it was the right time socially, financially and professionally to start my family. I made the decision to move from a one bedroom condo in the city to a multi-bedroom suburban home in a good school district, I was promoted to a nationally based work from home leadership position with limited travel, and while not in a relationship, I had made the decision I was finally ready to be a single parent. Unfortunately, this is where the plan goes sideways. While I successfully had 3 eggs thaw and fertilize with donor sperm, they did not make it past day 3 of growth and therefore I could not have any transferred. The postive of this situation, however, was that my uterus and hormone levels all responded well to receive a transfer. As such, my doctor and I decided to do another round of egg retreival. Despite my age, we managed to harvest 4 eggs, but unfortunately had the same result; 3 eggs fertilized with different donor sperm, but again did not continue to replicate past day 3. Seeing as the result was the same with eggs harvested at 2 different ages, it was not feasible to pursue another round of egg retreival. Knowing my disappointment, my nurse/care coordinator suggested embryo adoption as an alternative and ultimately sparked new hope for me.

 

I dislike "about me" sections as I feel like I'm in a job interview, but let's face it, this is an interview for the biggest role of my lifetime, motherhood! So here it goes. I am an only child and very close with my parents, my cousins, and my friends. My parents are retired and live with me part of the year and in [Island] as well. When I have work travel, they will often plan to be at my home to watch my 3 dogs (2 boston terriers and my recent Boxer rescue) and take care of my house. When I travel with my family, I am fortunate to have friends and neighbors that will watch my dogs, get my Amazon packages, or simply stop by with some extra baked goods they made. I joke that I moved to "Mayberry" but I'm truly so fortunate to have found such a great community. While I do not have siblings, I am extremely close with my cousins and they may as well be my siblings. We spend all major holidays together, go on family vacations (including an annual scuba trip to my parents condo in [Island]) and still get in trouble by my parents on the family group text. When we are all together, it's chaos filled with laughter, adventurous activities, and plans of the next trip - and even more fun now with nieces and nephews! Two of my closest friends I met in business school and they too are now basically family. We have gone through it all together (single life, marriages, career changes, fertility struggles). I'm fortunate to have successful females in my life that truly understand me; they encourage me to never settle and are my biggest cheerleaders whether it's an Ironman or fertility journey. While I cannot wait to be a mother, this tribe I describe above cannot wait to be grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

 

When I'm not working I stay very active. I've been scuba diving for 30 years now, and love all things ocean/sea. With my parents living in [Island] part of the year, I try to get down there as much as I can to enjoy the island, practice my Spanish (I'm bilingual) and enjoy the amazing food with my local friends. Visiting [Island] often, I started volunteering at the Ironman races which eventually led to me competing in Triathlons - and yes I completed both a 1/2 and Full Ironman in [Island] (I love a good challenge). Prior to triathlon I did a variety of marathons including the Dopey Challenge (5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon over 4 days) at Disney World. I love any excuse to visit Disney as I went many times as a child with my parents and one-on-one trips with my grandmother. (I truly charish those memories and hope to send my child to Disney with my parents). Most recently, I have gotten into pickleball and also belong to a boxing gym and pilates studio. I have had the privlege of traveling with my family, friends, and even lived abroad for my career. I love experiencing new cultures, learning the history and trying all the foods (yes, I want to eat at the street car vendors). By far the most interesting/memorable place I have traveled to was Egypt as it was like nothing I have ever experienced. I was raised Catholic, but I am not overly religious and consider myself Christian. I do not attend church regularly, but do incorporate prayer and reflection time into my daily life. One aspect of the church that I have continued is giving back to others. I regularly volunteer and am active with charities that focus on individuals with disabilities (my mom is a retired special educator).

 

On the professional side, I have a Bachelors Degree in Biomedical Engineering, MBA in Finance and International Business, and a Masters in Health Administration. I work for a major medical device company (16 year tenure) in a leadership role focused on Enterprise Account Management for 4 of our largest customers. While I work from home due to the national scope of my position, I live near one of my company's divisional head quarters which offers stability and growth opportunity. My work travel is limited and I have the ability to control if I travel or not, and with ample notification.

 

If you have made it this far, thank you. It is truly a dream of mine to be able to bring a child into this world and let them experience all that I have had the privelege to experience. I am eternally grateful that you have taken the time to get to know a little bit about me and consider me as the recipient of your precious embryos.