Embryo Donation Unites 2 Cancer Survivors as Family

After cervical cancer stole her chance to freeze embryos before her hysterectomy, Tamika Felder thought motherhood was impossible. Then in 2021, a stranger named Ginny Marable called with an offer that would change everything.

Ginny, also a cervical cancer survivor, had just welcomed twin boys using embryos she'd frozen before her own hysterectomy in 2017. She wanted to donate her remaining embryos to Felder, having learned her story through Cervivor, the organization Felder founded for cervical cancer patients.

"My saving grace in my devastating diagnosis was the ability to preserve our fertility," Ginny explained. "Tamika was denied the opportunity to do the same."

After overcoming her shock and tears of joy, Felder and her husband Rocky Campbell moved forward with a surrogate pregnancy. In November 2022, their son Chayton was born, making him the full biological sibling of Ginny's twins, Emmett and Grant.

The families now meet twice a year for visits and photo shoots, despite living on opposite coasts. Felder texts Ginny regularly, and the boys are being raised as cousins, though they can choose to call each other brothers when they're older.

"I call it our version of Modern Family," says Felder. "It really is family for us."

Sunny's Take

What makes this story so beautiful isn't just the science that made it possible. It's watching three little boys who share DNA grow up with twice the love, surrounded by parents who chose connection over convention.

Felder, now 50, admits raising a toddler comes with challenges, including painful moments when strangers mistake her for Chayton's grandmother rather than his mom. But the joy her son brings outweighs everything else.

Her favorite moments happen at bedtime, when Chayton covers her face with kisses and laughs. When she tells him to sleep, he responds: "I love you."

The energetic three year old already dreams of becoming a pilot and loves family dance parties. He travels with his mom on her speaking tours, surrounded by what Felder calls a "village" of support.

"I'm a better person because of Chayton," Felder says. "Because I know he's going to be here, I'm really going to try to leave it better."

Through one family's generosity and another's hope, three boys now have a bond that proves family isn't just about biology or geography, it's about love that crosses any distance.