A Family Affair

Here’s a really heartwarming story about family connections.

Ellie Freeman became a surrogate for her gay twin brother, with his husband providing the sperm and their other sister contributing the egg. The outcome? A joyful baby girl named Gali, who shares genetic links to all four adults involved.

“It was a beautiful birth,” Ellie, who has three kids of her own, shared. “Having my husband by my side was what mattered most to me.”

Twins Adam Braitberg and Ellie Freeman have always had a pretty close bond.

“We had a lovely upbringing in suburban Melbourne with our parents and two sisters,” Ellie recalled.

So, when Adam and his husband, Omer Kuchman from Israel, decided to expand their family, Ellie and their older sister stepped in to help out.

“Our older sister, Jess, initially offered to be a surrogate and even an egg donor,” Ellie explained. “But, in Australia, you can’t do both—so it turned out that Jess was okay to just be the egg donor, and I was more than happy to be the surrogate.”

Before they could start the surrogacy process, though, they needed to do some routine blood tests, which led to an unexpected diagnosis.

Ellie’s husband, gastroenterologist Elliot Freeman, noticed her iron levels were really low and recommended she get a colonoscopy.

The results were shocking—21 polyps were found and had to be removed.

Given the hereditary nature of the condition, her siblings were advised to get tested as well.

Adam went through the same procedure and, unfortunately, received grim news: a 10-centimeter mass was discovered.

“Oh no, he’s got cancer,” Ellie remembered thinking when the news came just a day before her first embryo transfer.

The planned procedure was postponed.

“We found a specialist in Jerusalem, and a month later, I was in for surgery,” Adam recounted about his colon cancer experience. “After tests and follow-ups, I’m clear—I’m in remission. Not long after, Ellie got pregnant with our baby.”

Ellie talked to her three kids, explaining, “Next time Mummy is pregnant, I’m helping Adam and Omer start a family, so this won’t be our baby but will be your little cousin.”

And then, nine months later, baby Gali was born, and she immediately found herself in the arms of Adam and Omer, who were present to cut the umbilical cord.

“She represents a beautiful symbol of family and everything it can be,” Adam said. “For Gali, we’ll make sure she knows her story. We want her to understand, ‘This is how you came to be; your two amazing aunties wanted you so much that they helped us bring you into the world.’”