Crystal Sirignano couldn’t stand by and watch her daughter's heartbreak any longer.
The 52-year-old Goodrich, Mich., woman had comforted her daughter, Kendra Sirignano, through several failed infertility treatments and surgeries in Kendra's quest to have a baby, to the point where it became emotionally overwhelming.
So Crystal made a decision: She would become a surrogate mother for Kendra and deliver her own grandchild.
Correction: make that grandchildren.
On June 19, Crystal delivered healthy twins for Kendra, 30, and her husband, Aaron Simpson, 33.
"I just feel so blessed and fortunate, it's the best experience of my life," Crystal told Michigan's Flint Journal. "I don't regret one second, even the times when I didn't feel good. None of that was as bad as watching what my daughter went through."
The boy, Domenic, was born first at 11:56am and weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces; a minute later his sister, Mia, was born and weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces, both by Caesarean section. They twins were born in Arizona, where Crystal had temporarily moved in October to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law. Both Kendra and Simpson are contestants on the NBC television remake of American Gladiators.
"They look perfectly healthy and, for twins, their weights are amazing," Kendra said in a story published in the Flint Journal. "The little boy came out all spread out and looked so big, and she looked so tiny. After they [the staff] weighed them and put on their hats and bundled them up in blankets, we held them. There was a whole ton of people in the lobby waiting to see us.... We brought them out and everybody was crying. It was so exciting."
There was never a question in Crystal's mind that she would do this for her daughter. She was in great shape at 52, both physically and mentally. For the past 25 years, she has owned a gym, Total Body Fitness, in nearby Grand Blanc, Mich., while her husband, D.J., owns a steakhouse in Goodrich.
But she might have been in too good a shape — a vegetarian, Crystal was told by doctors to start eating meat and put on some weight.
"I've been nauseous the whole time, and the hardest part is they wanted me to gain 50 pounds and eat 3,500 calories a day," Crystal told The Associated Press.
Kendra, a mental health therapist, and Aaron, a college wrestling coach, also have a 15-year daughter, Claire, whom they adopted three years ago.
Crystal’s decision has sparked something of a debate, however. The Flint Journal ran a poll on its website asking, "At age 52, a Goodrich woman serves as a surrogate to her daughter's twins. Would you do it?"
The results were overwhelmingly positive.
As of July 1, 82 percent of the 500 respondents voted "Yes, it’s truly an unselfish gift," while the rest voted "No, it goes against nature and too risky."
"It's amazing," Kendra told the Arizona Republic. "Everything turned out so well. They're healthy, good-sized twins. My mom did an amazing job."
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