GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids family who was denied parental rights to their twins born via a gestational carrier is finally able to bring them home.
Eames and Ellison Myers were born a couple weeks early, so they’ve been in the NICU at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital since January.
The family said, that despite the legal road ahead, they couldn’t be happier right now.
In fact, you could say that the joy in the Myers house is immeasurable.
Tammy Myers describes the moments when they surprised their 8 year old daughter Corryn, by bringing her baby brother home from the hospital nearly 2 weeks ago.
“She was crying, we were crying, it was pretty beautiful,” Tammy Myers said.
Jordan Myers added, “It was perfect, she reacted the best way possible. She is just so happy and we have not seen her this happy in a really long time.”
The Myers themselves are also they happiest they’ve been in quite some time; dealing with the emotional journey of learning their parental rights were denied by a judge in Kent County before the twins were born, due to an old Michigan law that recognizes their gestational carrier as the legal parent.
RELATED: GR couple denied legal rights to biological twins due to 'outdated' Michigan fertility laws
“It was a lot, but I think as sad as it is knowing what’s going on and how unfair it is, I think we are almost living in this little bubble at home, where we’re just kind of pretending like none of that is happening inside these four walls, Tammy Myers said.
The Myers have been granted temporary guardianship for the twins, but they are still not on the families insurance and the name of the woman who carried them is still on their birth certificate.
Tammy Myers explained, “Right now, legally we can care for them until April, which gives us more time to figure out the adoption process.”
For now though, the family is focused on the time they’re in now; the minutes and hours once once reserved for attorney phone calls or paperwork, replaced with getting to know their newest additions.
Tammy Myers describes Ellison as “chill.”
“She just kind of rolls with it all the time. She is just little and sweet,” she said.
Eames on the other hand, is a little more “high maintenance” according to his dad.
“Then we have our cute little Eames here who has more of a fun personality,” Tammy Myers said, “But he can also be a stinker and keep us up all through the night. “
It’s also clear that the twins already share a strong connection.
“When he gets upset, the one thing that calms him down is being next to his sister, so watching them snuggle and he instantly mellows out,” Tammy Myers said.
And while no one is getting much sleep these days, the Myers said it’s worth it, for this new beginning.
Jordan Myers said, “It feels like we’re finally home from the hospital, we are finally able to do this whole thing as a family and really kind of enjoy it.”
Right now, lawyers and lawmakers are working together to find the right sponsor for an updated fertility bill in Michigan. The goal is to create a clearer path to for families like the Myers who need to use gestational carriers to have biological children due to medical reasons, gain rights to their children.
