Susie Troxler (55) and Tony Troxler (61) had been waiting for a baby ever since they married 13 years ago. After nearly a decade of trying they finally have a healthy baby girl.
Susie, a High Point psychologist gave birth to their daughter Lily Antonia on September 29, 2021. The new mom said welcoming a child at her age felt “really surreal.”
“I’d been unmarried, I’d been a wife and now the idea of being a mommy, it still hasn’t sunk in I don’t think,” Susie said.
The couple had tried to have a baby since they got married but hadn’t been successful. They also never considered seeking fertility help simply because they didn’t know which options were available.
“When we got married, we just assumed we’d get pregnant, and then it didn’t happen,” Susie said. “But we’re both very old-school, and when we grew up, nobody even talked about or discussed IVF [in-vitro fertilization]. It wasn’t even a thing.”
Susie first visited Dr. Carolyn Harraway Smith three years ago for her annual exam. She was a new OBGYN. At the end of their appointment, the doctor asked her something she had never been asked before: “Is there anything else, any concerns or questions?”
She mentioned that they hadn’t gotten pregnant, and the OBGYN responded, “OK, we can work on that.”
Because of Susie’s age, Dr. Harraway-Smith knew she had a short window to conceive, so she immediately referred her to a reproductive endocrinologist.
The fibroids are benign tumors that form in the wall of your uterus. According to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health, they are most common in women in their 40s and early 50s.
Susie had her fibroids removed in January 2019. However, she was told it would be impossible for her and Tony to get pregnant naturally because of her advanced age and her husband’s health complications.
It is much more difficult to become pregnant after 35 years of age and presents more complications. The mother can experience gestational diabetes or preeclampsia. The baby can also be born prematurely or with birth defects.
Susie and Tony underwent multiple rounds of IVF but couldn’t produce a viable embryo, so they turned to egg donation.
The first embryo transfer happened in late 2019, but it didn’t take. Due to the pandemic restrictions, the plans for a family were halted for almost a full year when the US coronavirus pandemic struck in spring 2020.
The couple decided to give up on their last viable embryo and freeze it in February. This was their last chance at having children.
They discovered Susie was pregnant miraculously a few weeks later.
“I don’t even have words for it,” she said of her reaction to the pregnancy. On the other hand, Tony said learning he would be a first-time dad felt “amazing and surreal.”
Susie described her pregnancy as “pretty uneventful.” She had mild pregnancy symptoms and had no major medical complications.
Susie underwent a planned C.-section on September 29 by Dr. Harraway Smith. She hummed a gospel song during Lily’s delivery.
“Everyone in the room was excited and she came out healthy and happy and was just a beautiful baby,” the doctor recalled.
Now, the new sleep-deprived parents say they wouldn’t change anything for the world.
“Even now I find myself just staring at her,” Tony said. “Before she was born, she had me wrapped around her pinky finger.”
“I’m of the belief that kids come when they’re supposed to come, regardless of the age of the parents,” Susie added. “We look at it as this is exactly how it was meant to be. She’s our miracle baby.”
Watch the video below to learn more about Tony and Susie’s story.
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