Unexpected News & An Unbelievable Miracle

September 15, 2012 - Just a few short months before Ashley found out she was pregnant with James. 

Most people that follow us on social media know that we have the most adorable little one year old on the planet.  He is such a little entertainer, and he has brought immeasurable joy into our lives.  What many may not know, however, is the struggle we went through prior to finding out we were expecting James.

In 2011 we could see my college graduation quickly approaching, and we decided to start trying for our first child.  We had waited the amount of time we said we would, we were finally in a house, and the timing just couldn't be better.

After a few months of negative pregnancy tests, we decided to check in with Ashley's doctor.  She referred us to an infertility specialist, since she couldn't find anything that would prevent us from conceiving a child.  During our first visit with the infertility specialist, Ashley was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).  In short, it means that her body doesn't ovulate on a regular basis (sometimes as little as one to two times a year).  Also, if she did conceive, her body wouldn't produce enough progesterone to support a pregnancy.  In the meantime, I got tested as well and found out I had low sperm motility as well as a high number of sperm with abnormal morphology.  The doctor said it would be very difficult for us to conceive a child naturally.

We decided to go for a second opinion, and we were led by the referral of a few friends to a place called the Center of Reproductive Medicine (CORM).  If you or anyone you know is struggling with infertility, we cannot recommend this place enough.

The doctors at CORM confirmed the previous findings and suggested we continue trying naturally with the support of fertility drugs for a few months before moving on to more drastic methods.  We tried, and after a few more months, we just couldn't take it any more.  At this point, we had been trying to conceive a child for a year and a half, and it consumed every part of our relationship, and it had completely drained us emotionally.  Our doctor suggested an Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).  We agreed, and were beside ourselves when Ashley got a positive pregnancy test in November 2012.  The pregnancy went as perfectly as could be expected, and on July 31, 2013, we laid eyes on James Matthew for the first time.

July 31, 2012 - James Matthew Walker.  Our little miracle man.

Fast-forward to July 2014...

After a few days of suspecting that something was up, we were beyond shocked and excited when Ashley got a positive pregnancy test.  We hadn't taken our prescriptions or fertility vitamins since Ashley got pregnant with James, and we certainly weren't trying for a second child.

July 2, 2014 - SURPRISE!  The faintest second line ever, but I can assure you it's definitely there!

We immediately called CORM, and they agreed to take Ashley on as a patient since her PCOS puts her in the high-risk category.  Ashley went in for blood work, and they confirmed the pregnancy.

A week later, I got a call from Ashley on the way to work.  She asked me to come home because she had experienced a lot of bleeding, and we were both pretty sure she had experienced a miscarriage.  We went straight to the doctor, and the doctor discovered through an ultrasound that Ashley had a large hematoma in her uterus.  It sounded scary, but he assured us that it's not all that uncommon.  Unfortunately, her hematoma was quite large, and it was pressing on the gestational sac, posing more of a risk for miscarriage.  He could not yet see the fetus on the ultrasound, so he asked us to return in a week for another ultrasound.  At this point, Ashley was 5 1/2 weeks along.

We showed up the next week to the appointment not knowing what to expect.  As the doctor performed the ultrasound, we were devastated to see that there was still no fetus.  The doctor told us that at 6 1/2 weeks along, there should definitely be a visible fetus (fetal pole) with a heartbeat inside the gestational sac.  Not only that, but the hematoma had grown in size, and it was pressing on the gestational sac.  There was also "debris" in the gestational sac.  All those signs pointed to a pregnancy that was breaking down.  The doctor said he was "very concerned" and gave us a less than 10% chance of this being a viable pregnancy.  He wanted to take a conservative approach and have us come back in one more time before talking about scheduling a D&C to remove the gestational sac and clean out her uterus.

6 1/2 Week Ultrasound - At this point, there should be a fetus or fetal pole right next to where the yolk sac is.  Also, you can see the size of the hematoma compared to the gestational sac and how it is pressing on it.

Over the next week, we experienced a lot of emotions.  We were so grateful to God for allowing us to conceive completely naturally, but we couldn't understand why God would give us this miracle and then take it away.  We kept praying for God to have His way in all of it, but I just kept feeling like I needed to be more specific.  A few scriptures kept coming to my mind:

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 
- John 14:14

And this is the confidence we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he heareth us; And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. 
- 1 John 5:14-15

The night before our doctor visit, I just could not shake the feeling that God was wanting me to tell Him exactly what I wanted.  We both prayed that God would bring life into Ashley's womb.  We prayed that this pregnancy would result in a completely healthy baby, and we prayed that we would never have to go through the grief of infertility again.

The next day, we went to the doctor's office again not knowing at all what to expect.  We had complete faith that God could turn the situation around, but I have to admit to feeling a little doubt as to whether or not He would. 

As soon as the ultrasound image came on the screen, my mouth dropped in disbelief, and Ashley began to weep. There on the screen was the answer to our prayer...a healthy 7 1/2 week old fetus with a strong heartbeat, despite the 90% chance of failure. The sonographer doing the ultrasound used the word "miracle" herself. She said she had viewed our scans from the previous weeks, and she admitted to us that she definitely wasn't expecting to see anything.  We met with the doctor after the scan and he said he was "shocked."

7 1/2 Week Ultrasound.

This happened two weeks ago, and we've been to the doctor two more times since. Everything still looks great. The hematoma has gone away almost completely and should be gone in the next few weeks. Baby Walker #2 is set to make an appearance sometime around March 15.

9 1/2 Week Ultrasound - It's so amazing to see how quickly they grow.  You can also see in this picture how much the hematoma (highlighted red) has gone down in size.

**Note:  I know some will wonder if the doctors just somehow missed the fetus the first time.  These doctors are the best in their field, and the facility has some of the best technology available.  Infertility Specialists go through the extra schooling to become an OB-GYN as well as additional training in Reproductive Endocrinology.  When he was doing the scan, the doctor spent probably 10 minutes looking for the fetus or any sign that one might be there.

We have been so humbled by God's grace through all of this.  We have been reminded over and over that He hears and is faithful to do exactly what He says He will do.

He's going to be the BEST big brother.