Life is full of surprises – especially just as you’re about to give up all hope. This holds especially true for Andrea and Mark Rivas, and their close friends, Sandi and Philip Palmisano.
After meeting each other during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, the couples became incredibly close. But no one could’ve expected that they would be intertwined in each other’s lives forever they way they are now….
Years of trying to get pregnant with no luck led Andrea and Mark into the same IVF office where Sandi and Philip were also waiting patiently for good news. For Andrea and Mark, the treatment was the answer to their prayers!
Two years into treatment, Andrea and Mark were blessed with not one, but two babies! Their twins, Conor and Avery, were the miracles their parents prayed for.
Unfortunately for Sandi and Philip, their IVF treatments never took – and four years later, they were just about to give up hope on the idea of having children of their own.
That negativity ate at the devestated couple until Andrea approached them with an extremely kind offer: she would be their surrogate, if they were willing to try one last time. Sandi and Philip were overjoyed and agreed immediately.
Philip told Today that, despite whether the surrogacy was successful or not, this offer bonded the families forever.
“We knew we would be life-long friends no matter what the outcome.”
However, nothing could prepare the couples for what happened next.
The ultrasounds technician revealed Andrea was once again carrying twins, but this time it was for Sandi and Philip!
Andrea carried the twins without any major complications and when the day of the delivery rolled around, her best friend Sandi was right by her side. She told Today having Sandi there to witness the birth of her children, Grayson and EmmaLee, was the most important thing.
“She got to be there when we heard them cry for the first time. I wouldn’t have had it any other way than to have her with me.”
The birth went off without a hitch, and Sandi and Philip finally had the children they yearned for. But life’s surprises were far from over for Andrea and Mark!
Just a few months later, Andrea began to feel extremely sick – and to rule out every possible cause, she took a pregnancy test. To their surprise, it came back positive!
The couple rushed to their doctor to get confirmation that she was pregnant yet again. Not only was Andrea pregnant naturally, but an ultrasound revealed two little embryos with two separate pounding heartbeats!
They were having twins…. again!
Just over a year after Andrea’s birth to Sandi and Philip’s twins, she gave birth to her second set! Now the Rivas’ and the Palmisano’s big brood of six call each other cousins and will be there for each other through thick and thin.
Learn more about Andrea’s incredible journey in the touching video below.
Both families never expected to have any children, let alone sets of multiples. Their story goes to show that life is an unpredictable journey – and you should never give up hope!
