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Seeds of Success: The Szymurski Family
When RADfertility patients, Nikki and Jared Szymurski, decided they wanted to commemorate the birth of their son, Mark, they asked Erin Farrell Photography to join in the delivery room to capture the once-in-a-lifetime moment. This beautiful and unique Seeds of Success story is in Nikki’s own words and was originally featured on her photographer’s blog in July of 2017.
“I’ve always wanted kids. I never dreamed that I would deal with infertility, although in retrospect the possibility was obvious with several women in my family who also struggled. I refused to accept the idea that I was not meant to be a mother; I would fight and do whatever it took to make my dream of having a family a reality. I was diagnosed with endometriosis and had to go through IVF to have my daughter. It was the most physically and emotionally difficult thing I had ever experienced. Even pregnancy and delivery were difficult – I developed preeclampsia at 37 weeks, had an emergency C-section, and developed HELLP Syndrome after delivery. In the end, it was all worth it. My beautiful daughter is now 3 years old and I can’t imagine life without her.
My husband, Jared, is an only child, and we both agreed that we wanted our daughter to have a sibling. As soon as we felt ready, we were back at RADfertility and doing another round of IVF with the embryos frozen from our first cycle. We were pregnant again, but–just like before–I developed preeclampsia. I was forced to deliver our beautiful baby boy at 26 weeks. My sweet, amazing baby fought as hard as he could, but we lost him at 3 weeks old.
We grieved for our son. I grieved the loss of my fertility and the ability to be pregnant. We still desperately wanted to give our daughter a living sibling to grow up with. When Jared and I discussed our options, we quickly concluded that we wanted to use our remaining embryos….with a surrogate.
I never could have dreamed up what happened after that. My girlfriend Meri–who had only just come into my life the year before–already knew about our struggle with infertility, my inability to be pregnant, and our tragic loss. When I mentioned to her that we were going to pursue surrogacy, she, without even the slightest hesitation, offered to carry our baby for us. Her exact words: “I will do that for you. Absolutely.” I was stunned by her generosity and I knew she was being genuine. She could–and would–happily do for me what I could not. She had easily carried and birthed her 2 healthy little boys, and is a wonderfully loving and giving person. It is her nature to do anything for the people she loves, and she entered my life at the exact time that I needed her most.
Our journey was overwhelmingly incredible in so many ways. I’m awestruck that my friend could be so selfless and giving; that science has progressed to a point that surrogacy is even an option, and that this option was accessible to us. I’m blown away by the support of our family, friends, and co-workers. If I couldn’t carry my baby, my best friend was the perfect next best thing.
I will never forget those days in the hospital that led to my son’s birth. It never felt weird, it just felt amazing. The moment that Mark was born was perfect and everything I had hoped it would be; Meri and I cried tears of happiness together and then I finally held my baby. “Aunt Meri” will always be a part of our family, her children are like cousins to mine. When all is said and done, we have a beautiful baby, a unique path that we have walked, and the addition of the Wheeler family, whom we will forever call ours.”
In March of 2022, we checked in with the Szymurski family to see how they were doing and Nikki shared the following message alongside a recent family photo from Christmas 2021:
“We could not be more grateful to RADfertility for helping us achieve our dreams. Their empathy, kindness, and expertise made our difficult, emotional journey toward having a family the best it could possibly be. Everly is now 8 and in second grade and Mark is almost 5 and going into Kindergarten next year. We discuss their lost brother, Ian, frequently, determined to keep our memories of him alive. Our family, made with love, friendship, and science, is more than we could ever have hoped for; we can’t imagine our lives without our kind, incredibly sweet, smart, beautiful children!”
