You might be exhausted at the thought of raising a baby at 50 years old, but after years of infertility issues, Susie Troxler was thrilled to finally be pregnant.
On September 29, 2021, Susie and Tony Troxler welcomed their baby girl, Lily Antonia Troxler, to the world. Mom was 50 and dad was 61 at the time.
The Troxlers tried to have a baby for over a decade before they figured it just wasn’t in the cards for them.
Married for 13 years when they welcomed Lily, the pair hadn’t considered fertility treatments because, like many people, they just weren’t sure what options were truly available to them.
“When we got married, we just assumed we’d get pregnant, and then it didn’t happen,” Susie Troxler told Good Morning America. “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.”
If you’ve been lucky enough to get compassionate medical care throughout your life, it may come as a surprise that it took decades for an OBGYN to ask Susie if she had any concerns about her health.
She was in her late 40s the first time a doctor asked her “Is there anything else, any concerns or questions?”
Susie Troxler was caught off guard but took the opportunity to ask about her fertility – and she was surprised by the response.
“Because she asked it, I mentioned that we hadn’t gotten pregnant, and she said, ‘OK, we can work on that.’”
Once Susie was referred to a fertility specialist, a reproductive endocrinologist, to be exact, her issues became apparent.
Troxler was diagnosed with fibroids, benign tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus. She underwent surgery in January 2019.
But that didn’t mean getting pregnant would be easy. They still had Susie’s age to consider as well as some health complications on her husband’s side.
The first approach the Troxlers were encouraged to try was in-vitro fertilization. However, they were never able to produce a viable embryo.
Then they decided to try egg donation, but the embryo created would not implant in Susie’s uterus. After that, the pandemic put their plans on hold for nearly a year.
They had one embryo left to try that had been frozen. It was their last chance – and in February 2021 it worked!
Susie and Tony couldn’t believe their last-ditch effort worked. They called the pregnancy “surreal.” And they were thrilled.
Even more surprising was Susie’s “pretty uneventful” pregnancy. At her age, it’s common to have complications.
But after a planned C-section on September 29, 2021, the Troxlers finally became parents. By their side during the delivery was OBGYN, Dr. Carolyn Harraway-Smith, the doctor who originally started Susie on her journey by simply asking her to share her questions and concerns.
“It was a beautiful and exciting and peaceful moment,” Harraway-Smith said of the delivery. “Everyone in the room was excited and she came out healthy and happy and was just a beautiful baby.”
Baby Lily was born happy and healthy to two doting parents who couldn’t be happier to have her around, even if it means getting less sleep than ever.
“I’m of the belief that kids come when they’re supposed to come, regardless of the age of the parents. We look at it as this is exactly how it was meant to be. She’s our miracle baby,” said the new mom.