My sister's amazing story!

My sister has had an amazing journey through infertility, and her story and faith has impacted many lives. But the most special gift from God was the gift of Reece. Amy had the opportunity to enter an essay contest by one of the pharmaceutical company that makes IVF possible. And she won 2nd place in the country. It was a huge deal and the newspaper came and did a party at the doctor's office that made it all possible (Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine). Amy's nurses and doctor's have been amazing and helped celebrate this special occasion. Amy has also had a relationship with a wonderfully talented photographer (Erica Larson) that did maternity shots, the delivery, and pictures at this party. Her blog is http://haydnkreephotos.blogspot.com/ and she is so talented. These pictures below are the pictures she took at the party.

The prize (a college scholarship account for Reece)


The Family on the special day (Papa, Ya Ya, Tracey, Amy, Reece, and Ella)


Happy momma and Reece


Beautiful miracle Reece


Dr. Winslow and Reece


Here is Amy's beautiful essay that she wrote!

A Modern Day Miracle: My Daughter, Reece Elizabeth
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
“The problem with infertility is that I am mourning children that do not exist and I'm the only one who misses them."

I once read this quote, during my infertility journey. It is hidden in my heart so I will never forget what others feel as they pursue their own journey to parenthood. It is hard to know where to begin this essay; I have written and re-written it in my head a million times. My husband and I have been on an amazing journey and it is hard to put into words. Infertility, is a powerful, heart wrenching, scary word, and if spoken aloud-thoughtlessly, can bring one to tears in a matter of seconds. Am I an infertile? Yes. Did I ever imagine I would be one of “those women?” No. Am I thankful that I am now considered part of this elite group? Absolutely.
Our journey to parenthood has been a life changing experience, one we will never take for granted. With the support of our family, my amazing doctor, a very special nurse, our increasing faith and new pharmaceuticals, we have experienced in all regards a modern day miracle.
In the fall of 2004, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Ella. After exactly 12 months of charting, temperature taking and perfectly timed intercourse; we were finally on the road to building our family. Little did we know our journey had just begun. Convincing myself everything was fine regarding my fertility, especially after conceiving Ella on our own; we decided to try again for a second child. After experiencing months and months of disappointing negative pregnancy tests, I knew it was time to head to the doctor.
On November 9, 2006, my daughter’s second birthday, I received devastating news of two very large tumors attached to my ovaries that were possibly cancerous. My husband was deployed to the Persian Gulf at the time, and it felt as if our world was tumbling down. After extensive doctor visits and second opinions, I was referred to Dr. Kevin Winslow at the Florida Reproductive Institute. There was no cancer found, but Dr. Winsolw discovered I had stage 4 endometriosis and had severe damage to my abdomen and reproductive organs. We were so thankful that I did not have cancer, but at the same time realizing our life-long dream for more children was no longer a possibility; that is until we learned we did in fact have options. He explained that with new medical advances and specialized stimulating drugs such as Bravelle and Menopur we would have a chance of recovering a few healthy eggs. My husband and I embarked into unknown territory. At that point I became an advocate for my body as well as for my future children; learning all I could about my physical body system and in turn learning about my inner spirit and strength. After undergoing a laparoscopy to drain the endometrioma’s (endo tumors) we started our first IVF process. Excited, scared and anxious we shared our story freely with others, extended family, friends and even strangers; one mistake we would decide not to make again. Not knowing how we were going to pay for this process, but not willing to accept a hysterectomy, I started raising funds and made a website and began selling my handmade necklaces. With the news of our exciting journey, our families and friends began selling the necklaces to pay for our awaiting miracle. Upon hearing of our adventure, my nurse shared our story with Dr. Winslow and in turn he provided his services without charge. This act of selflessness was more than we could comprehend. We had been in a whirl-wind of emotion and we were so optimistic, we just knew our first IVF would result in a child. Sadly, our pregnancy test was negative and we lost our embryos. We were completely devastated. It was so hard for us as a family, but to have everyone question and offer advice was almost unbearable. From that point, we had a small support group that we were able to confide in. Looking back, it was so important to accept our loss and move forward, for I had so much to live and be thankful for. I knew that we hadn’t been on such an amazing journey to end up sad and bitter. After losing the embryos and having time to grieve, I began to realize that I needed to take all of the energy that I had put into getting pregnant into something positive to help others, just like my healthcare team had taken care of my husband and I. I then enrolled into college, pursuing a nursing degree at night, inspired by my IVF nurse, I hope to one day advocate for others in the same way she did for me.
After taking a short break, it was decided we could try one final IVF and if it failed, we would continue with a hysterectomy. This time, I first underwent abdominal surgery and had all of the endo removed, six weeks later we started our second and final IVF. This time, we were very private with each step of the process, more realistic of the odds and were more emotionally prepared for the unknown outcome. We surrounded ourselves with a small support group, focused on our daughter Ella, made long term plans of becoming a nurse and strengthened our marriage and faith.
It is with the utmost pride I write today, that I am just 7 months short of graduating nursing school; my daughter Ella is now a proud big sister as my daughter Reece Elizabeth was born May 23, 2008; beautiful, healthy and absolutely our true modern day miracle.
If I knew then what I know now; I actually wouldn’t have changed a single moment. I have learned that you can’t compare your own fertility journey with others, you have to be an advocate for yourself, be informed about your body, have an intimate support group, follow the doctor’s orders explicitly and most of all be thankful for the opportunity be part of something bigger than yourself. Am I thankful to be infertile? Absolutely.

And now, by the grace of God Amy is expecting a baby again!!! It is medically impossible, but God saw fit to bless their family with another miracle. God in his sovereignty and power is so amazing and continues to build our faith in him. I have witnessed my sister's faith and grown so much from her example. Thank you so much, Amy, for being my sister and such a wonderful Christian mother, wife, and sister. I love you!
Here are a few more pictures by Erica Larson.

My mom and Reece


Amy's belly with Reece and big sister Ella.


Tracey and Reece


Big sister Ella, so beautiful!