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August 9, 2018

"I was born with a hole in my heart and have a transposition of the major arteries—that means my arteries are connected to my heart in the wrong spots. I’ve had several major surgeries to repair both issues, but my heart’s lower-right chamber is nonfunctioning. The surgeries were risky, but when I survived the second one in 1985, I felt like God chose me to live a normal life. I can’t climb Pike’s Peak or run a marathon, but for the most part, my life has been normal. One thing I have struggled with though is not being able to have children; my heart just isn’t able to sustain pregnancy and childbirth. Every cardiologist I’ve had has told me adoption is my only option. However, after I got married I began seeing a new doctor who suggested in vitro fertilization (IVF) with a surrogate. I was so excited about this option! Finding the right surrogate was a challenge, but my sister-in-law didn’t want to see a stranger carrying our baby, so she volunteered herself! We were so blessed by this.

After several very difficult, unsuccessful tries, I had to give the process over to God. Then during the Christmas service last year, Pastor Robert had everyone turn to their neighbor and say, ‘God’s going to conceive a miracle in you in 2018.’ My husband and I both turned to my sister-in-law and said it. And in March, we were finally able to schedule the IVF procedure to transfer the embryo to my sister-in-law. Just 10 days later, as we anticipated the bloodwork that would indicate a successful pregnancy, we decided we couldn’t wait and took an over-the-counter test the night before. The results were negative, and I was in disbelief. I cried myself to sleep that night, but the next day a miracle happened. The nurse called with the bloodwork results and told us we were pregnant! I was so grateful, and now me and my husband, along with my brother and sister-in-law, are waiting on Madilyn Elizabeth’s arrival in November!”

Amy and her husband, Rusty, attend the North Fort Worth Campus.