Bio Baby Bunting

Duane and I were beginning to settle into the idea that Kisty and Weldon would be our only children. It seemed logical to stop here since we had a girl and boy. We certainly were grateful to God for these special gifts. Things seemed to be going well until I begin to have difficulties medically. We decided to see a specialist in Albuquerque. He recommended that I have a surgery.

When I woke up from the surgical procedure, the doc told us that things had gone a lot more positively, than he was expecting. Perhaps we might want to consider trying to conceive now, as he had hopefully, repaired a few things that he believed were keeping me from getting pregnant. His suggestion was to first try intrauterine insemination (IUI). Then, after a number of courses, if I did not conceive. we would be good candidates for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Duane and I discussed this for several months and tried to make sense of the direction our lives should take. We decided to contact an infertility specialist closer to our home. I had heard of a really good doctor who was female and her success rates were really high. But, our medical insurance would not cover and it was very expensive for IVF, Actually, it was not inexpensive for IUI. We made an appointment to consult with her about our options. Since this is a public blog I will refer to her as Dr. D.

She recommended that for the IUI's I should try first taking fertility drugs by mouth. It was about $500 a month with medication, ultrasounds, blood work, and the procedure. I was so excited that first time we tried. The idea that we might actually get another newborn baby and a biological child seemed like such a God given miracle in our life. But, unfortunately I did not conceive. Nor did I conceive during any of the 22 tries that followed. I had been in treatment for nearly two years at this point. Dr. D suggested we up the chances by doing an IVF attempt.

Now we would really be getting into some expense. During 1988 and 1989, the IUI expense each month had taken on the financial burden, equivalent to a nice luxury sized car payment....only we weren't getting a car. We just got a lot of failure and disappointment month after month. It really wares on the heart when you try and try with nothing but failures. So my spirits of hope were pretty low at this point.

But, I bucked up and started taking the inject-able drugs for one month to prepare my body to receive the fertility drugs and hopefully succeed with IVF. Dr. D checked my lab work daily. I spent many hours traveling over to Lubbock. I would get up very early every morning that month before the procedure and get the kids to school. Then go for my ultrasound and blood work. After about a week of strong hormone injections my eggs were ready for harvest.

In the late summer of 1990, Duane and I were very excited about trying IVF. So, I went onto the procedure table, to surgically have my precious eggs removed. We had three very nice large eggs that developed into 6 and 8 cell embryos. They were so beautiful to look at under the microscope that day they were implanted into my uterus.

The human embryo looks like a colorful jelly fish without any tentacles. And they make little quivering movements in the incubation tank in their lab dish. Very beautiful sight. This procedure was costing us $15,000 dollars to attempt conception once. Pretty pricey financially, emotionally, and physically for what other couple acquired from the pleasures of love.

With the transfer complete, I was told to go home, and lay around on the couch for ten days. Then I could come back to Lubbock for a blood test. I never realized how long ten days could be!!! Finally, on the tenth day, I drove over to Lubbock and the embryologist (Dr. P) drew my blood. He told me that it would require a couple of hours to have the results and for me to go occupy myself. I went and walked around the grounds at Texas Tech Medical Complex. Then over to the hospital and looked at the new babies in the window at the maternity unit. Bought a snack in the cafeteria and then returned with my heart in my throat to find the results.

The moment I walked into the lab, Dr. P had a huge smile on his face. He laughed and said "we're pregnant". I just broke down and cried. He said "Aren't you going to ask how pregnant are you?" His question took me back momentarily and I said "What do you mean?" Dr. P said "Your test boomed with positive....I think it is twins or triplets!" I could not believe it as we only had three embryos to transfer. Although, they were very high quality embryos. But, how could they have all implanted!!! Dr. P had called Dr. D who came over to the lab. She brought a bottle of progesterone in oil and informed me that I would be taking these painful injections every day and having blood tests weekly.

Okay....not a problem if it meant it would help me carry my babies. She sat up a follow up appointment for two weeks and an ultrasound. Duane and I loaded up the two kids and we went to show our children their new babies. The ultrasound reviled that it was twins. Oh, I was so hoping for boy and girl twins. We were so excited and happy!!! God was so good to us and now He had performed another miracle in our life.

I felt really wonderful physically, although the IM injection of progesterone in oil everyday was not something I looked forward to. Plus my hip stayed painfully tender, as once my body absorbed the progesterone, it left the oil behind. It actually takes up to one year after each shot for the oil to completely dissolve from the muscle. So each day I made a new deep muscle injection to leave it's knotty tender spot.

As my pregnancy grew, I gained more and more confidence, that we would have a second family of children. Kisty and Weldon were so excited. Duane and I were walking on cloud nine!!! Fall was passing and our pregnancy grew. At Halloween, I felt so well that I walked a few blocks with Kisty and Weldon so they could trick or treat. Kisty would be going to a party at her friends house after she walked with Weldon and I through the neighborhood for trick or treat. Several people giggled and made pumpkin jokes about my tummy. Although I was only about 23 or 24 weeks....there were two babies in there and it showed.

I felt pretty tired when we got home from our walk. Kisty left for her party and Weldon sat down at the kitchen table eating his selected "safe" treats. I got into a relaxing bath and watched my tummy move. The amazing acrobats were in there. Duane and I went to bed early that evening. The next morning, I still felt tired, and so Duane recommended I lay on the couch that day.

In the evening, when the kids came in from school, we got homework and baths out of the way before dinner. I sent the kids to bed early....with much protest from them ;-). Then I got into bed and slept all night. The next morning, I felt like I might be coming down with a fever. I thought maybe I had caught a flu bug. I took a couple of Tylenol and remained in bed all day. During the night I woke to a ruptured membrane. I woke Duane and said; "Honey, my water broke." I was softly crying. He was in immediate denial and said I must have accidentally wet the bed. I was crying harder and he knew it was serious. He jumped up, dressed, got some blankets for me and put the seats down in the SUV. Then Duane put me in my little car-bed comfortably and we took off for Lubbock.

When I arrived, Dr. D and Dr. P were there waiting. Dr. D said yes it was amniotic fluid and I needed to be put into the MF/ICU immediately. They put me on strict bed rest. Not to get up for ANY reason. So there I laid flat on my back for three weeks. Never have I prayed and cried so much. It was unbelievable that this could be happening to us.

On the morning of November 11, 1990 my second amniotic membrane ruptured and our tiny preemie twin BOY and GIRL were born. They were such tiny little doll babies. One weighed 13 ounces and the other weighed 11 ounces. I had made it to the 27th week of pregnancy before labor forced them into a world they were not ready to be in. The doctors said it was a slim chance that little Terry Austine and Tranelle Lynette would survive. If they did....they would likely never be normal. Shortly after their birth, Jesus called them home.

Now, at that time, I could not make sense of why God would not allow my babies to live. Duane and I cremated them and they are waiting for me in a pretty little brass box in the top shelf of my closet. I just had to have them near to me and we could not bare putting them into the ground. Someday, when the Lord calls me home, I will be buried with their urns.

There were so many things going on, in my mind and heart, coupled with poor health after laying in bed for 3 weeks. It really took about one year before I was healthy and mentally stabilized enough to try IVF again. However, for the next seven years following their death, I could not make any logical sense of why I lost my twins. Eventually, I learned why God had brought me down that painful path, and the answer was in a far away foreign country. I will explain that later.

Finally, I felt I had rested sufficiently, maintained super nutrition, got good exercise, and went through much mental healing. It was the right time to do another IVF try. Unfortunately, I did not conceive. So I waited six months and we tried again. Again, I did not conceive. This was so disappointing, but, we waited six more months and tried again. I still did not conceive!!! I felt like God did not want us to have our heart's desire. Duane completely disagreed. He told me that as God cares for the little sparrow...he so much more cares for me. So with Duane's insistence I tried one more IVF and I tested POSITIVE!!!!! In 1993, our beautiful biological child was born full term and healthy. We named him Casey Jay Gartner.

Duane and I have enjoyed this child so very much. Kisty was sixteen and Weldon was thirteen years old with this newborn baby in the home and it was wonderful. My family was so proud of him. My sister had two boys....one right after Weldon and a second child three years later. So Casey was they only baby in the family and everyone showered their affection on him. He was a beautiful baby!!!!

About a year later Kisty graduated from High School. Weldon was finishing elementary school and going into Junior High School. Kisty moved out of the house and now we began to adjust to another heavy transition. Which was a lot more difficult than I thought. I had cared for her, protected her, kept her close under my wing for 18 years, and now how could the time passed so quickly! Wow!!! Weldon became the oldest child in the house. He helped me accept Kisty growing up and moving out, by saying how happy he was to have his own room, and did not have to share a room with a baby!!!!...LOL

So our little family had grown by one more child. Yet, it had decreased by one child. It was only three years later in 1996 that Kisty gave birth to a daughter...Little Trisha. I then became a grandmother!!!! Now that was so cool. Trisha was a beautiful little girl and I had her with me a great deal of the time. Little Trisha and Casey really enjoyed one another. They are still very close. I felt that life was very sweet!!! The pictures above show our new family of five, Casey at 10 months old, me barefooted and nine months pregnant, Casey at the age of 23 months, and Little Trisha and Casey at our 25th wedding anniversary. They were two and almost five years old.