“In 2007, at the age of 17, my life was set on a course I would have never imagined. It sent me on a whirlwind, but looking back, all the pieces fell perfectly for my miracle to take place. Things happen in our life and we tend to question why instead of trusting in God’s plan. Little did I know that part of my plan would include marrying into the perfect family to help.
At my first gynecologist appointment, doctors found a tumor growing inside my uterus. Believing it was cancerous and not having any normal uterine tissue left, my uterus was removed. I can remember so clearly waking up from surgery and being told I would never be able to carry a pregnancy. It felt like a kick in the gut. I was told my ovaries were saved, so I knew either having a gestational surrogate or adoption would be the only way I could ever have children. But both would be very expensive.
I remember the first time I met my now husband Cody’s mom, Patty. I was so nervous. Patty had me laughing and feeling comfortable within minutes. When you meet Patty, you instantly feel God’s loving presence in her. In 2012, Cody and I married and I officially became a part of this wonderful family.
Cody and his family knew from the beginning that having children would be something very difficult. When we talked about surrogacy, Patty often joked that she loved being pregnant and had no issues during her three pregnancies. After graduating college and being married for five years, we were ready to have children. But how would we ever afford IVF and paying a stranger to be our surrogate?
After a couple of our surrogate options did not work out, Patty made it clear she would carry our baby for us. I began to do research and started to find other grandmother surrogates — this might actually work. With some financial help from my family as well, I called and made an appointment with an IVF clinic in Dallas, Texas. In October 2016, after intensive testing, Patty got the clear and I started my injections for my egg retrieval. Six beautiful embryos were created with my eggs and Cody’s sperm and were frozen.
In March 2017, we had our first embryo thawed and transferred into Patty’s womb. We found out a week later, this transfer did not work. We were devastated. I began to wonder if this was going to work for us.
The next month we tried again. This time our plan and God’s plan lined up, and we were pregnant! Patty had left a urine specimen so Cody and I could find out first and together. I remember standing there holding the pregnancy test in disbelief, there was two pink lines!
We decided we wanted to surprise Patty with the news. I called Patty and told her we decided we would just wait and test with her. We drove to her work and laid the positive test in front of her, it was something I will never forget. Pure joy!
Over the next months, Patty sailed through her pregnancy. I was a little envious watching her belly grow with my son inside, but what a miracle she was growing. Patty was sure to include me in every moment, from doctor appointments to sending me videos of Kross moving.
Fast forward and my sweet Kross Allen is in my arms. He was delivered by a scheduled C-section on December 30th, 2017. I was able to experience something most woman do not get to, watching my own son come into this world. That day was beyond nerve wracking. Not only did I want my boy to be here safely, I was worried about my mother-in-law too. Woman die during childbirth, that’s a fact, and if it happened to my mother-in-law, I’m not sure how we could forgive ourselves.
Cody, myself, and my father-in-law got to be in the operating room. Cody and Chris stood behind the curtain at Patty’s head holding her hand and I was able to stand at the back of the room to watch it all. I remember walking into the room and seeing Patty lying on the operating table and her arms stretched out, as though she was on a cross, and my heart began to race. Here was this woman risking her life to give me the best gift of my life. I tried to hold back my tears.
When the doctor broke Patty’s water I could see the top of Kross’ head and a head full of dark hair. I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. The doctor pulled Kross out and placed him on the incubator. I looked over at Cody and said, ‘Oh my God, look at his cheeks!’ The nurse let me help wipe Kross down. I felt like I was dreaming, this could not be really happening. Kross was wiped down and placed in a new blanket into my arms. Cody and I stared at him in disbelief. Chris was holding Patty’s hand and he whispered, ‘You did it hun.’
Kross then meet his grandmother that made his life possible. Patty was drowsy from the medication and had her eyes closed, but a tear came down her cheek. I felt relief at that moment, Kross and Patty had both made it through the C-section okay.
While patty was recovering, Cody and I had a private room with Kross. The first moment of skin to skin with Kross was the best moment of my life. I never thought this would happen for me and here he was, a perfect, healthy baby boy. I was worried Kross would not bond with me, but we had no issues. I loved him and he loved his momma from day one.
Patty did amazing during recovery. She even went shopping at Target the day after she was discharged from the hospital. She made it look like giving birth at 50 was easy.
Being a mom is the absolute best. He has made my heart whole. I still look at Kross in amazement. From thinking I would never have a child to having this miracle baby. Kross was created, frozen in time, thawed, and then grown in his grandmother’s womb, how great is our God?
We get asked a lot when we will try again. I would like to make Kross a big brother one day, but we will wait for God to open another door for us. Until then, we are enjoying every minute with our boy.
Thank you to our families, our doctors, and our God who all made this possible. They say it takes a village to raise a child, in our case it took a village to get him here. I hope our story will inspire others to not give up hope. Sometimes our miracles find extraordinary ways to us.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Kayla Jones of Texarkana, Arkansas. You can follow their adventures of creating baby Jones on their Facebook page.
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