Brett and Jennifer Callaway are ready to take home their bundle of joy, a 10-and-a-half pound baby girl named Nora, delivered via C-section on Sunday. For Jennifer, Nora truly is a miracle.
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"In my heart of hearts, I was sort of convinced that this was not gonna happen," Callaway said.
Jennifer was 27 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer seven years ago. She became a patient of Dr. John Lurain, a gynecologic oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He removed her right ovary and followed up with six rounds of chemotherapy.
"Because of the histology, or what it looked like under the microscope was a rather low-grade tumor, i thought we had a good chance of helping her," Dr. Lurain said.
But her chances of conceiving naturally were unknown, even though her left ovary was intact. She told that to Brett a few years later when they met and fell in love.
"I didn't care. I loved her and knew that we would figure it out," Callaway said.
Then last year, good news. Jennifer bought three at-home pregnancy tests before getting anesthesia for a dental procedure.
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"We had a yes, no and a maybe," she recalled.
She followed up with Dr. Lurain, who confirmed she was, indeed, pregnant.
"It just makes our day when we have people we cure but are also able to preserve their fertility and they can go on and have a family," Dr. Lurain said.
During Jennifer's C-section, doctors were able to examine her remaining ovary and uterus to make sure they still looked healthy and cancer free, and she was given a clean bill of health.
"If it weren't for them and their team's efforts, I wouldn't be here. Let alone, able to have a baby," Callaway said.