Kristine Casey was 61 and had not given birth in about 30 years when she returned to a Chicago operating room in February 2011. The baby born that night was her grandson.
Her daughter, Sara Connell, couldn’t ovulate. After treatment, she managed to get pregnant, but gave birth to stillborn twins, and a later pregnancy ended in miscarriage.
Adoption wasn’t part of their plans. Kristine, retired and looking for a deeper sense of purpose, offered to carry the embryo created with Sara’s egg and her son-in-law Bill’s sperm.
She had gone through menopause a decade earlier, but with hormone supplements and a second round of in vitro fertilization, the pregnancy progressed successfully. The doctors had confirmed she could safely carry a pregnancy before the Connells agreed.
Finnean Lee was born by cesarean at 9:47 on a Wednesday night. Mother and daughter held hands throughout the birth.