From Parents:
Thank you. I feel a great weight lifted off my shoulders. Knowing that dear (their gestational carrier) has that information we discussed lightens the pressure for me immensely. Your guidance today was truly invaluable. You help me to recognize I need to practice what I preach! “
N.M. Intended Mother using Gestational Carrier
Ellen was the licensed psychotherapist for our surrogacy case and is very committed and passionate about the reproductive medicine field. She brings many years of deep experience to her clients, and her professional approach is very fresh and upbeat. She did the psychological consultation for us as Intended Parents as well as the evaluations for our surrogate and anonymous egg donor. We placed a lot of confidence in Ellen when it came to the psychological evaluation on our anonymous egg donor, as this was a critical step in our donor selection.
Ellen’s most important work was with our surrogate. Ellen and our surrogate had monthly calls, and she really “held the hand” of our surrogate throughout the preparation period, the nine months of pregnancy, and postpartum. We believe our surrogate hugely benefited from Ellen’s care and support during the unfamiliar process. Ellen would always follow up with us proactively, which we appreciated. Thank you, Ellen, for your great attitude, super support for our surrogate and highly professional expertise!”
V
You did some pre-surrogacy counseling with my husband and I. In any case, I just couldn’t help but share our incredibly joyous news that our beautiful son made his debut into the world on Sunday 4/12. He is nothing short of miraculous and amazing. His sweet spirit is such a gift and his Dad, and I cherish him completely!!! I can’t tell you how full of gratitude I am and how I think of all the players in our story that brought us our wonderful son. Being a mom is all I’ve ever wanted, and this past week has been the happiest days of my entire life. We just couldn’t be more thrilled about being parents!!! Thank you again for helping along that journey!”
With Love,
S
We are just letting you know that our baby girl was born. This is definitely the most ever precious gift to husband and me for Christmas! We would like to send our special thank you to you for your professionalism and great support through this whole journey! Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”
J and V
It was a pleasure to meet you. C and I thought the session was very helpful in understanding the whole egg donor process. You made us feel comfortable and at ease discussing the topic.
Thank you!”
C and R
My parents and I wanted to thank you for all of the help and encouragement you’ve offered me and my family in this long process.
We appreciate all that you’ve done for us! I still remember our first meeting. It seems so long ago but it gave me great hope this would all work out.
Thanks again, and here are a few pictures of the girls.”
G.C. (Single Father who used an egg donor and gestational carrier. His parents also had sessions with Ellen during the course of the pregnancy)
It was a pleasure meeting you last month. Just wanted to give you an update. I’m glad we met while my brother was here because we ended up using him as a donor. We have retained independent California attorneys to draft and review a sperm donor agreement. Things have been moving very fast, but we’re all excited! Thanks again, and I will definitely refer others to your practice.”
Mike O
It’s quite a pleasure to contact you as we had the opportunity to see a couple of your very well structured and detailed reports about the egg donors. We are pleased to inform you that those very professional reports of yours, allowed us almost to “know and see” the very donor herself. You have, at the same time, the capacity of describing the personality of the donors, simultaneously detailed but in an “easy-to-understand” way for people like us.
With our warmest regards,”
J.E. & F.L. (a couple from Brazil)
“I’m glad she (our surrogate) is open to talking to you about family issues, hopefully that will lessen the stress on her for the remainder of the pregnancy. I’m really glad I called you and alerted you to the situation. I feel much better now that she will have some support in dealing with the issues in her life. Keep me posted if there is anything I should be concerned about.
J
“Dearest Ellen:
It has been our pleasure to have you by our side during this journey. We are the happiest family that ever existed right now. Our little dove is the most precious thing, he is a VERY happy and playful baby and we are enjoying every second of him. Thank you all for all the hard work, love and support that you gave us during this difficult process. We very much look forward to doing it again within the next 6 months, hopefully:)
Words cannot express our appreciation for everything you did for us, we will be eternally grateful.
Until we talk again soon,”
N & T
We wanted to thank you again for your time and precious feedback during our meeting.
Your dedication and commitment were heartwarming, and we wanted to tell you how much we appreciated meeting you. Thank you for your follow up on the donor. We are very excited to hear how great of a person she is. Everyone seems to really like her. We are very, very excited as she seems to be the perfect match for us.
We are buying the books and starting the reading!”
S & L, Intended parents
Thank you so much for Saturday’s appointment. We both felt it was a positive session and really appreciated your wisdom, experience, and knowledge in this area. We deeply appreciated the dialogue that emerged from everything you chose to lead in the discussions. Very very helpful.”
H.H. Intended Parent
From Referral Sources
“Thank you for all that you do for us, Ellen. We truly appreciate it! “
SP, 3rd Party Coordinator at a Fertility Clinic
“I am speaking on behalf of Mr. G and Mrs. W. Yesterday morning; we had a wonderful meeting with Ellen Miller. Mr. G and Mrs. W were very impressed by Ellen’s professionalism and kindness. She shared some very useful experiences and advice.
Mr. G and Mrs. W are feeling very comfortable and have more confidence to continue their surrogacy. However, they would like to know if Ellen Miller can take their case and work with them through this process.”
GW, AN International Consultant to an Agency
“You Are The Best!!!”
Surrogate Coordinator for large Agency
“I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the kindness you show my surrogates. They always have such positive thoughts after meeting with you. It is not easy for them to be open and trusting but they mention you put them at ease, are helpful, professional, the list goes on… I am grateful for that and for all of our work together!”
Agency Owner
“Hi Ellen,
Thank you for being a part of our agency, from day one, and taking care of our surrogates with such compassion. I am grateful to have you with us.
With love and gratitude.”
Agency Director
“Ellen: Your reports are very thorough and the best I have seen :-)”
L.D. Case Manager, Surrogacy Agency
From Surrogates
Thank you for your time today. I had no idea what to expect going into today’s appointment since this process is all new to me. It ended up being a nice experience! Also, thank you for the tips on how to approach the surrogacy topic with our girls. That was helpful and we’ll be sure to use your suggestions.
S. G., Gestational Carrier Candidate
“Ellen Winters Miller has been an integral part of my surrogate experience. She has been invaluable throughout this whole process. Her support and commitment has helped my confidence in this whole process. During times of adversity and disappointment, she has been there to validate my feelings.
Friends and family, those who love me, are important, but Ellen has contributed a perfect blend of being objective, realistic and compassionate. She has always been available, even after hours to be that ear…or that shoulder to cry on…or that cheerleader rooting us on. Whatever the case, she makes me feel that my concerns are valid and of priority.
On more than one occasion, I have asked myself “what would I do without Ellen?” As surrogates, I don’t think we can imagine the potential emotional stress and challenges that are ahead. Having someone qualified and experienced like Ellen, makes the whole process and experience smoother and more enjoyable for all.
My IP’s and I have had our smiles and our tears. I am so grateful to have Ellen there at my side. I wouldn’t trade her for the world. I have her to thank for my positive attitude…my hope…and my determination with surrogacy.”
Susan L
“I would like to share with you how much I have appreciated having Ellen Miller to talk and discuss the range of emotions I have experienced, after the cancel of a cycle, three days before it was to take place. I really feel like she has gone above and beyond what my expectations were for this arrangement. She has been a liaison for my intended parents and me while we experienced a disappointing cycle outcome. I have profusely thanked her for her time and effort but wanted you to know that she is such an asset to your agency. I would be happy to have you post this on your website for other people to read. I was skeptical of her place in this process and now I understand how important she is on this journey.”
LP
I think your role is very important in this process, you are very easy to talk to and you offer great advice. I feel like your suggestions make the communication between the surrogate and agency and even the communication between the surrogate and intended parents much easier. You know just what to say in touchy situations 🙂 I appreciate all of your help :)”
AT
I want you to know how much you and this group have meant to me and helped me during my entire journey. Thank you so much for making this group a safe place for us to share our hearts and emotions. You are an extremely special and talented woman and I sincerely appreciate you!
Talk soon!”
J
I just reread the email you sent to (her Intended Parents) on my behalf and I just want to tell you “thanks” once more. You said just what was on my mind and you put it all in clear form. I’m so grateful to have you be my liaison and my support system. Thanks again,”
C
“Ellen. As you know, I’ve been through some emotional stress that turned out not to be necessary. You’ve done so much. I can honestly say that you have made me feel that you had my back and that you were there for me. I really am doing much better and appreciate you checking on me and my emotional well-being.”
KW
“I really can’t thank you enough for talking with me. I feel like such a weight has been lifted! Just wanted to let you know that I gave your name and number to my mom. I’m not sure that she will call, but she did say that she thinks it would be helpful to her.
Thanks again!!”
JH
“I just wanted to write you a quick email to tell you how absolutely amazing Ellen has been through this journey. She was a great source of inspiration and advice for me. She always made time to talk that worked for me and made me comfortable talking to her. She is a great asset for (Agency). I’m actually going to miss talking to her now that my journey is over. Thanks again for everything!”
H