HOUSTON — When journalist, Richelle Carey was in her 20s and early 30s, she didn't think much about starting a family. Instead she focused on her career, anchoring from Waco, Las Vegas, to St. Louis and Atlanta. She had a dream career, working at CNN's Headline News for seven years. In 2016, Richelle relocated to Doha, Qatar to be a presenter on Al Jazeera English.
As time passed, Richelle found herself longing for a partner and eventually felt like her biological clock was ticking.
At the age of 43, she decided it was time to freeze her eggs, and at the age of 46 she decided it was time to use them. Richelle tried in-vitro fertilization (IVF) using a sperm donor, but it didn't work.
So, she pivoted on her path to motherhood and looked at next step, adoption. At the time she was living in Doha, which presented a few hurdles, but she made it work and was approved to become an adoptive parent in late 2018. After a couple picked a different family over her, she decided that she could improve her odds if she was more focused on the adoption process.
Richelle made the decision to quit her dream job and move back to Houston to her parents' garage apartment. In March 2021, she received a call from the adoption agency, saying a birth mother who had a six-week-old baby was interested in meeting her. The very next day, she drove to Dallas to meet them. As soon as she saw that baby boy, she knew at once he was the baby she had been waiting and trying for all this time.
The next morning, Richelle told the agency she wanted to adopt him. Four days later, Avery was home with her.
To learn about Richelle, visit richellecarey.com.