14 months after her late husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack, a widow has given birth to his child.
Sarah Shellenberger used frozen embryos to conceive with her late husband and gave birth to a baby boy named Hayes in May.
Scott, her husband, died in February 2020 of a heart attack. Sarah had just finished an embryo fertilization procedure at a Barbados fertility clinic when she got the awful news.
The couple had been trying for a baby and had been advised that IVF was their only option for getting pregnant. However, due to the exorbitant price of this procedure in the United States, they chose to have the egg retrieval done at the Barbados Fertility Center.
In December 2019, the couple, who married in 2018, had their first egg extraction and discovered it was a boy.
“We only got one genetically normal embryo in the first round, and that turned out to be Hayes,” Sarah, an Oklahoma teacher, explained.
“We discovered out he was a boy just before Christmas.” Scott and I were able to choose names for him before he passed away, which was quite important.
“We opted to do another retrieval in February while I still had as many eggs as possible.”
Unfortunately, Sarah’s husband Scott, a science professor, was unable to accompany her this time due to a lack of vacation time, so she accompanied her mother.
Sarah traveled back to Oklahoma through Toronto after the procedure was conducted properly, but it was there that she received some tragic news.
According to the Daily Record, “when I got in Toronto and eventually connected to the WiFi, my phone went nuts.”
“I was getting a lot of text messages, and the first one I got was from one of Scott’s coworkers, saying that they were all gathered here praying for Scott.
“I called his mother, who informed me that he had suffered a heart attack and had been sent to the intensive care unit, where he had not regained consciousness.”
Sarah raced to the hospital when she returned to Oklahoma to meet her husband. She couldn’t believe her young, healthy husband had had a heart attack and thought he’d be fine.
However, physicians informed her that her 41-year-old husband was brain dead.
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Sarah said, “I couldn’t believe it.” “There are no words to express how I felt.”
Sarah made the decision to donate his organs and completed the necessary papers.
“I had to say my goodbyes to him on Friday, February 21. That was the most difficult task I’ve ever undertaken.”
Scot saved three people’s lives by donating his liver and kidneys.
Sarah traveled to Barbados for the embryo transfer six months after her husband died. She found out she was pregnant a week later.
“It was our greatest ambition — Scott wanted to be a father,” she continued.
“We have these two embryos that have already been created in our eyes, and they are our children.” There was no other choice for me. They’re our children.”
She gave birth to Hayes on May 3 with her mother by her side.
“Holding Hayes has been such amazing medicine for me, and he has in many ways mended my heart.”
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‘I’m here for a reason.’
“It’s bittersweet because I know Scott would have been over heels in love with him, and it’s difficult to go through these experiences without him.” He has a lot of Scott in him.”
The mother says she and her husband intend to have another child using the same procedure with their second and last healthy embryo.
“It’s starting to seem like things are looking up and that maybe my life isn’t over and that I have a purpose.”
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A new life can provide so much hope, and I’m so thrilled Sarah and her husband were able to have the baby they so dearly desired.
By sharing this story, we can express our support for this new mom as she navigates motherhood without her partner. We wish them both the best of luck in the future.