Brenda, American Intended Parent in North Liberty, Iowa, USA

Explain your reasons for wanting a surrogate/donor:

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How would you best describe yourself(s):

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Use this space to communicate a letter to potential Surrogates/Donors:

July 27, *** Dear Prospective Surrogate- Our names are Brenda and Ben Moore.We are a 34-yr-old couple from North Liberty, Iowa.We have been married 9 years and are hoping to establish a relationship with a surrogate who is interested in helping us realize our dream of becoming parents.We came across your profile after searching through a variety of surrogacy resources over the past few months.We connected with your message which we found to be deeply heartfelt, insightful, and sincere.The specific information you provided matches the characteristics we are looking for in a surrogate.-Thoughts about Surrogacy: Considering the subject of surrogacy, oftentimes, people focus more on hopeful parents searching for the “right” surrogate.But what about surrogates being just as selective in selecting hopeful parents who she chooses to bless with the privilege of raising a child? I think this important piece of a surrogacy relationship is too often overlooked or thought of as a secondary issue.We believe a surrogate should choose parents who she believes will raise a child in a nurturing environment— parents who are well-informed and emotionally prepared, able to show and speak unconditional love, and provide a child with diverse life experiences that will give her/him the opportunity to realize his/her full potential.It is very important to us to share this life-changing experience with a woman who trusts that we will be excellent parents, and if she so chooses, maintain contact with us to share in the milestones and memories in our child’s life.-The People We Strive To Be: Those who know us best describe us as open-minded, generous, loving people.They believe we make others feel comfortable, respected, and at ease in our company.We are generous with our time and attention, and are willing to discuss anything (even highly sensitive subjects).We are always interested in learning new things from others and dedicated to self-improvement.We work hard to make ethical choices regardless of the extra time and effort involved, or the obstacles that may stand in our way.We have a strong marriage, communicate effectively with each other, and greatly enjoy each other as both partners and friends.Whether it’s traveling, having a unique culinary adventure, or seeing a musical theater production, we love experiencing things together. In decision-making, we make the effort to become informed about the issue at hand, discuss and negotiate our options as a couple, and make decisions we both feel good about.We advocate for local and state initiatives we feel strongly about including “buy local” organic food and cruelty-free products, availability of responsible and experienced complimentary health practitioners to individuals with all income levels, and community-wide educational programs.-Education and Careers: Ben earned his Associates degree in Applied Business Management, Bachelors in Business, and is currently completing his MBA part-time through the University of Iowa Tippie School of Business.He is employed by Toyota Financial Services, the financial branch of the Toyota car company as the manager of the Knowledge Management department.His position focuses on quality assurance and compliance.He manages a team of data analysts, computer programmers, and technical writers.He enjoys his job and Toyota has been a wonderful company to work for.They encourage a healthy work-life balance and parental involvement.His hobbies include running, photography, reading, music (trained pianist and vocalist), and volunteering with the Boys & Girls Club and our county’s 4-H Photography program.I earned my B.S.E.in Elementary Education specializing in Early Childhood and hold dual certifications and teaching licenses for newborn through Grade 6.I taught preschool, kindergarten and 4th grade before accepting a graduate program scholarship and research assistantship to the Psychological and Quantitative Foundations program in the College of Education at the University of Iowa.My graduate training included all sub-specialties of psychology, educational measurement, research methods, and statistics.I have taught Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology and Mathematics courses as a professor at public and private colleges and universities in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids areas for 8 years.I also provide professional consultations and interventions for children with learning and/or behavioral difficulties, conduct neuropsychological testing, and hold seminars for parents who want to achieve healthier relationships with their children.Recently, I became a certified post-partum doula working on a volunteer basis.I help new parents acclimate as they return home with their newborns and learn to care for them, provide breastfeeding support, evaluate and discuss weekly developmental progress, and provide emotional support and encouragement.My hobbies include music (trained vocalist and pianist), reading, and offering free tutoring to youth and adult students.-Fertility Situation: I was bitten by a deer tick at the age of 11 and contracted Lyme Disease.I was very ill for 8 mos.before I received the correct diagnosis.During those 8 mos., I was transferred to 4 different hospitals, increasingly farther away from my family.The acute abdominal pain I was experiencing was addressed by keeping me on a constant high-dose IV drip of Demerol for several months.Experimental tests, procedures, and an exploratory abdominal laparoscopic surgery were performed on me without my knowledge or parental consent.The laparoscopic surgery revealed mesenteric adenitis caused by infection with Lyme spirochetes.I eventually received high-dose antibiotics and my symptoms became less severe, but did not disappear.We began pursuing adoption 4 years ago.Shortly after we applied, I began experiencing severe symptoms of Lyme Disease once again and was not able to work in any capacity.It began with intractable migraines, nerve pain and numbness down both arms into my fingers, seizures, tachycardia, difficulty word-finding when I tried to speak, and a loss of short-term memory.Very little was known about Lyme Disease when I contracted it as a child.A great deal of research has been done since then and has revealed that the health conditions and the way in which I have experienced them (timing, severity, etc.) were the result of the Lyme bacteria entering a state of dormancy in childhood, then posing another attack on the immune system later in life.The combination of all the experimentation my body was exposed to and an abnormality in my uterus that was noted in medical records but I never knew about until many years later, compromised the quality of my ova and ability to carry a fetus.I received all known available treatments for Lyme Disease in the US without any success before going to a clinic in Germany in February *** that specializes in curative treatments for Lyme Disease.I completed an intensive 5-week treatment protocol, then 3 months of at-home treatment.My treatment has been amazingly successful, and I have fully regained my health.We can now, responsibly, pursue our dream of becoming parents with the help of a surrogate later this year.In the state of Iowa, individuals diagnosed with and treated for a health condition within the past 5 years are ineligible to adopt.We have been ready to be parents for many years now, and we do not believe it is in a child’s or our best interest to wait 5 more years for the sole reason of satisfying a statute.We are in need of a traditional surrogate who is willing to do an at-home insemination or a physician-assisted ICI/IUI with Ben’s semen.We are willing to travel to your location for him to provide fresh samples or freeze and send them. We understand that choosing prospective parents to bless with a child takes time and careful consideration.We would be honored to communicate with you further.In the meantime, if you would like to see pictures of us, our home, and special moments we have shared, please send me a friend request on Facebook. Sincerely, Brenda and Ben Moore: ***