I thought I would never have children after a horrific illness. Then I discovered a lifeline some say is wrong - but I don't care what the critics think: GEMMA LINDFIELD

A kiss on the cheek, a fortifying sip of white wine, and the date was under way. So began the journey I never thought I'd take – one I am still travelling nine years later. Gemma with her beloved Summer Grace, who was born by surrogacy in Ukraine The couple waited until their surrogate was six months along before they announced their news Gemma and James immediately adored Summer and couldn't have been more grateful to everyone who'd made her possible At secondary school, however, while my friends started their periods and bought bras, I didn't, and for the first time had a sense of being different from other girls. Gemma reports that Summer is starting to recognise her now and describes the love in her eyes as 'just incredible' Our writer tells her detractors: Never judge until you have the full picture - who knows what you'd do in the same circumstances I did some soul searching and realised that if I had to watch this man I loved move on and have a baby with another woman, I'd never forgive myself for not at least trying. For 40 years, I'd never truly dealt with the fact I couldn't have children and now I didn't like how it made me feel.