CHILLICOTHE, Ohio, May 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Jackson (OH)
resident Kaley Lower vividly remembers the moment she first
laid eyes on the daughter she never thought she would have.
"I looked at my husband and just said, 'We did it,'" Kaley said,
emotion choking her voice. "This was something we had worked so
hard for. We were told in 2020 that we would probably not be able
to have a biological child, but luckily," God had other plans.
"We had been through so much in almost four years, from
countless scans and blood draws, two surgeries, 200 fertility
shots, many trips to our fertility clinic in Cincinnati, and just many days and nights
where we felt like this was never going to happen. Even now,
several weeks after her birth, we still look at each other and say,
'We have a daughter.' It just doesn't seem real. The whole journey
was just very emotional."
Playing a big role in that journey were the clinicians and staff
with Adena Women's Health,
especially Molly Shoemaker,
certified nurse midwife. It was her compassion, understanding,
confidence, and most importantly, her comforting approach that
Kaley said brought the couple's roller coaster ride to parenthood
to a successful conclusion.
That ride began in the summer 2019 when the couple decided the
time was right to have a baby. Unfortunately, after about six
months, they knew something was wrong. Following visits to their
individual physicians within Adena Health, they underwent an
intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedure in an effort to conceive.
When that didn't take, they spent more than two years visiting
fertility clinics and underwent five more unsuccessful IUI
attempts.
Then, in the fall of 2022, they tried in-vitro fertilization,
through which the egg is fertilized in a lab setting and the
resulting embryo is implanted into the mother's uterus.
"We ended up with four embryos," Kaley said. "We transferred the
first embryo immediately, but it didn't take and we lost it. A
month later, we transferred a second embryo and, to our surprise,
we received a positive pregnancy test right away. Unfortunately, we
found out right before Christmas that we had lost that baby. Then,
in February 2023, we took our last
two embryos and transferred them together and one of them stuck. By
the time I made it back to Adena, I was about 12 weeks pregnant, I
had gone through about 200 shots and we'd spent $30,000 since most fertility treatments weren't
covered by our insurance. We had been through a lot."
Since her longtime doctor at Adena, Kristin Colwell, MD, was no longer delivering
babies, Kaley acted on a recommendation from her sister and made an
appointment with Molly, whose approach proved to be just what she
needed.
"A lot of people had said a lot of great things about Molly,"
Kaley said. "I was very anxious, but when we walked in for our
first appointment with her, it was really nice". I remember
I teared up and told her what our journey had looked like, all
we'd been through, and that what I was carrying was all I had left
– there were no more chances. I remember telling her this baby had
to make it, whatever we needed to do.
"She was very confident and said, 'absolutely.' We talked about
some different tests and ran some of them to make me feel better.
Every precaution we could take throughout this journey, we
took."
Nothing proved easy during the pregnancy, however. Kaley
developed gestational diabetes, had a four-day stomach bug that
created a scare, and needed treatment following a fall in which she
was worried she had lost the baby. Molly, she said, was there for
the couple through it all, including remaining on duty to assist
Kaley through an entire 36-hour labor process that included a
caesarean section delivery.
"She even took one of our phones, since during a c-section only
my husband and I could be in the room, so she could get pictures to
help capture those moments for our family, who couldn't be in there
with us," Kaley said. "She knew I was anxious about a c-section, it
wasn't something we necessarily had prepared for, so she talked
with us about different things, what that might look like and how
that might affect the future if I would have another baby. I really
appreciated it, I just felt like she really knew me."
While Molly stood out in her care, Kaley praised the entire
labor and delivery and recovery teams at Adena Regional Medical
Center, saying they have her absolute faith and trust.
"I would definitely recommend Molly," Kaley said. "She's great
at listening to your concerns and just goes above and beyond for
you. She didn't have to stay with me that whole time, but she
did".
"I also was impressed with my nurses throughout the process,
especially when I was in labor and recovery, they were great and
very knowledgeable. The whole program, really, I would recommend to
everybody."
Adena Health midwives see patients in Chillicothe, Circleville, Hillsboro, Jackson, Washington
Court House, and Waverly.
Schedule an appointment or learn more about Adena Women's Health services and providers by
calling 740-779-7201 or visit Adena.org/women.
Adena Health
Adena Health is an independent, not-for-profit and locally
governed health care organization delivering on its mission,
"called to serve our communities," for more than 125 years. A
regional economic catalyst, Adena Health is composed of more than
4,200 employees – including more than 200 physicians and 150
advanced practice providers. With hospitals containing a total of
341 beds, regional health centers, emergency and urgent care
services, and primary and specialty care practices, Adena Health
serves more than 400,000 residents across nine counties in south
central and southern Ohio through
its network of more than 40 locations. Its hospitals include the
266-bed Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe and three 25-bed critical access
hospitals—Adena Fayette Medical Center in Washington Court House; Adena Greenfield
Medical Center in Greenfield; and Adena Pike Medical Center in
Waverly. Adena Health specialty
services include orthopedics and sports medicine, heart and
vascular care, pediatric and women's health, and oncology
services.
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SOURCE Adena Health