- Ellie offered to become a surrogate for her twin brother Adam and his husband Omer, while their sister Jess donated her eggs
- Routine health checks before surrogacy lead to Adam discovering a 10cm bowel tumour
- After Adam’s surgery and recovery, Ellie became pregnant with their embryo and later gave birth to their daughter Gali
Here Ellie Freeman, 36, from Melbourne, Vic, tells her story in her own words
Wrapping my arms around my twin brother, Adam, then 33, I was so excited.
It was July 2023, and after a year apart we’d reunited for our grandmother’s 90th birthday in Thailand.
Our extended family of 37, including 14 great-grandchildren, had gathered from all corners of the world to celebrate our matriarch.
Raised in a traditional Jewish household, my siblings, Jess, Romy, Adam and I were very close.
‘Family is everything,’ my parents, Debbie and George, reminded us often.
So when Adam came out as gay at 19, I already knew that, when the time came for him to become a father, I’d do everything in my power to help.
Adam relocated to Israel aged 21. But distance could never change our relationship.
When we weren’t sending frequent texts, we were video-calling for important milestones.
Adam was the best uncle to my three children, Noa, then three, Maya, two, and Raphael, five weeks.
Embracing each other in Thailand, it felt like no time had passed.
‘We’re engaged!’ Adam beamed, alongside his fiancé Omer, then 35, over dinner.
They’d met two years earlier through mutual friends.
We hadn’t met the man who’d stolen our brother’s heart until now, but he fitted in with our family perfectly.
READ MORE: ‘A Stranger Gave Me A Baby’
Chatting over lunch, it wasn’t long before the topic of parenthood came up.
‘We’re thinking of surrogacy,’ Adam said, explaining Jess, then 38, had already offered to be their egg donor.
‘I would love to carry my future niece or nephew for you,’ I offered.
Hope filled my brother’s eyes. ‘That’s too big an ask,’ he whispered.
While I hadn’t finished growing my own family, I’d had three easy pregnancies and birth experiences and was willing to do it again.
My husband Elliot, then 34, agreed.
Back in Melbourne, Jess went on to donate her eggs, creating seven beautiful embryos with Omer’s sperm, meaning there was a biological connection to both fathers.
It was a joyful moment, but there was heartbreak to come. Seven months later, in February 2025, after a colonoscopy as part of health checks, I found out I had a genetic polyposis syndrome, which causes potentially cancerous polyps.
Adam and Omer tied the knot in March.
It wasn’t until after the wedding that we learned that, while thankfully I was cancer free, tests revealed Adam was battling bowel cancer due to the same condition I had.
With no symptoms, he’d had no idea!
Thankfully doctors had caught it early and, in June, Adam had surgery to remove a 10cm tumour.
READ MORE: ‘Surrogacy joy: My mum had my baby!’
The journey to fatherhood had ended up saving Adam’s life.
Two months later in September, we were ready for the first embryo transfer.
A hopeful Adam and Omer watched on video as the procedure was done.
All we could do now was pray it’d take.
Ten days later, we huddled together on a video call as I phoned the clinic for the results.
‘You’re pregnant,’ the nurse told me, and we all burst into happy tears.
As the weeks passed, Adam and Omer dialled in on every scan and check-up.
They saw their baby on the screen, heard its heartbeat and witnessed it kick as if they were there.
‘Mummy is carrying Uncle Adam and Uncle Omer’s baby,’ I told my kids, explaining the baby would be their cousin, not a sibling.
At nine weeks, I gave my consent for Adam and Omer to learn the gender of their baby.
I wanted them to have a special secret only they knew.
Finally, in March 2026, Adam and Omer relocated to Melbourne permanently to be closer to family.
READ MORE: I was born without a womb… so my sister had my baby’
Two months later, at 39 weeks and six days along, it was time.
‘The baby’s coming!’ I told family over the phone.
At hospital, I just had time to meet Adam and Omer before being whisked into the birthing suite, with them and Elliot by my side.
‘It’s a girl,’ Adam said, tears streaming down his cheeks, as their daughter came into the world. ‘Thank you for making our dreams come true.’
Adam and Omer named their beautiful bundle Gali, meaning ‘wave’ in Hebrew.
A few hours later, my own little ones by my side, I had my first cuddle. Kissing Gali’s forehead, I noticed she’d been blessed with Adam’s smile and Omer’s olive skin.
‘Welcome to the world,’ I beamed, handing her back to her doting parents.
Gali is our tiny miracle, created by our family’s love.
Adam Braitberg, 36, says:
When Jess and Ellie offered to be our egg donor and surrogate, I couldn’t believe it.
Two of the most important people in my life were willing to help us create a life.
I’ll never be able to repay them for their selfless act of love, but I will spend the rest of my life thanking them.
Gali, now three months old, is a smiley little love who has us wrapped around her little finger. When she’s not grabbing at our chest hairs, she’s snoozing in our arms.
When she’s old enough to understand, we can’t wait to tell her all about her two incredible aunties who helped bring her into the world.
Our daughter Gali is our greatest blessing.
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