The woman known as "the paralyzed bride", Rachelle Chapman Friedman, and her husband, Chris, had a gender reveal party on January 4 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Rachelle wanted a girl and Chris was hoping for a boy. The only person who knew the gender prior to the reveal was Rachelle's mother. The gestational surrogate didn't even know!
Rachelle was paralyzed from the neck down at her bachelorette party when she was pushed into the pool by one of her bridesmaids as a joke. After her and Chris were married, they planned on having a family with the assistance of a gestational surrogate (the woman carrying the child has no genetic relationship to the baby). Their gestational surrogate was a mutual friend from college. Rachelle was unable to carry the pregnancy because her doctors have to control her blood pressure and any increase in that would be too risky for a pregnancy.
Surrounded by their surrogate, family, and friends they opened a giant box of balloons that revealed the gender of the baby by using either pink or blue balloons. When they opened the box, pink balloons came out and they both were very excited to learn they were having a girl! They have been documenting their journey on their website and expect to have their daughter this spring.