A woman serves as a surrogate for a high school friend whose chemotherapy treatment could negatively affect the unborn baby. She got moved after she had read the story posted by her old schoolmate.
In 2017, Katy Sanchez got diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme IV after her optometrist found that she had an elevated intracranial pressure, as reported by Fox affiliate WSYM. They heard the news weeks after she got married to her husband, Joshua.
Undergoing clinical trial
Sanchez started a course of chemotherapy and radiation after her tumor got removed. After that, she underwent six months of chemo treatment. Sanchez chose to be part of a clinical trial at Cleveland Clinic because her disease has a high rate of recurrence and low-rate of survival.
Three years after she started the treatment, the tumor has not grown back. However, Sanchez told the outlet that they learned they could not get pregnant because of the possible unknown effects of the treatment on the unborn baby.
She said that because the treatment was effective, she does not want to discontinue it because they want to have a baby. The couple decided to consider gestational surrogacy and posted about her situation on Facebook.
A high school classmate was moved
Christy Acevedo, Sanchez's high school, saw her post and was moved by it. She told Good Morning America that she had a lot of conversations with her friend. The McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital nurse said she decided to help her friend shortly after reading Sanchez's post. She told the outlet that she and her friend both cried because it was unforgettable.
According to WSYM, Acevedo said she felt it was her calling from God to help Sanchez. She and her husband talked about how blessed they were because they have two daughters, so they wanted to give another woman the same opportunity.
Life-changing sacrifice
While the couple knew that they had to sacrifice, they believed it was only a short time in their lives to change someone else's life forever. The team worked out for surrogacy, and in January 2020, doctors transferred the embryo to Acevedo.
One of our nurses, Christy Acevedo, was featured this morning on Good Morning America. She gave the ultimate holiday... Posted by McLaren Greater Lansing on Thursday, December 24, 2020
In October, she gave birth to Sanchez's baby girl. The Sanchez couple were both so happy to finally become parents. Acevedo told GMA that it was all she had hoped for. She explained that it was incredible to see the birth of a baby and a mother and a father.
She said that she would never forget after being allowed to see that. Sanchez added that she is so happy because she would tell her daughter that she was born because of a great act of kindness.
