Courtney Essenpreis and Amy Fuggiti already share an incredible bond. The 36-year-old women from Chicago, Illinois, are identical twin sisters. As such, they've gone through so much together — and they recently undertook a journey that is likely making them closer than ever.
Amy and her husband Anthony have been trying to conceive a child for years. Amy and Courtney were both born with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, which has impacted their eyes. At the age of 12, they were both diagnosed with glaucoma and told that any children they have would have a 50% chance of inheriting their syndrome.
Courtney used a combination of genetic testing and IVF to conceive two children, whom she carried to term. But Amy had less luck, and months went by as she and her husband were unable to conceive their own child. Throughout it all, her sister was there for her.
"We basically clung to each other," Amy said. "Throughout our life we've been in everything together, we've done everything together."
Courtney explained that a conversation about surrogacy was never needed: "For me it was just obvious, there was no need to say, 'Hey, would you like to borrow my uterus?' It was the natural progression."
Courtney also clarified that she feels lucky to be the one carrying her sister's child: "A lot of people say, 'It's such a nice thing to do, she's so lucky.' But I'm actually the one who's lucky. I'm the one who gets to help with this situation and bring baby girl Fuggiti into this world."
