by Cancer sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴏʀ Gave Birth To Quadruplets After IVF With Her Dream Of Having Big Family
A mother has revealed how she gave birth to quadruplets after believing that a ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ with ʙʟᴀᴅᴅᴇʀ ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ had ᴘᴜᴛ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅ to her dreams of having children.
Virginia Johnson, from Arizona, discovered she had ᴛᴜᴍᴏᴜʀ when she had a sᴄᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴇxᴀᴍɪɴᴇ ᴀɴ ᴇᴄᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ pregnancy in October 2013. The 35-year-old, who had her right Fᴀʟʟᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛᴜʙᴇ ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇd as a teenager, was ᴅᴇᴠᴀsᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ when doctors revealed they would have to ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇ her left tube to stop the sᴘʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴏF ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇ, Fᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ it would mean she would never become a mother.
But I.V.F proved successful and she gave birth to daughter Zoe, now three, in October 2014. Hoping to give their daughter a sibling, Virgina and her husband Victor, 45, had one final round of I.V.F last year – and fell pregnant with quadruplets.The mother-of-five now keeps thousands of Instagram followers entertained with updates about her life with Zoe and eight-month-old Ava, Madelyn, Olivia and Victor.
She said: ‘I feel so lucky when I look at my children because I never thought this would happen to me. It hasn’t been your typical journey into parenthood, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.’
Virginia ʜᴀs sᴜFFᴇʀᴇᴅ Fᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ɪssᴜᴇs since puberty and had her right ovary and Fᴀʟʟᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛᴜʙᴇ ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇd aged 13 due to ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs ᴡɪᴛʜ Pᴏʟʏ Cʏsᴛɪᴄ Oᴠᴀʀʏ Sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ (PCOS). She and Victor, a car dealer, tried for years to conceive before falling pregnant. But they sᴜFFᴇʀᴇᴅ Fᴜʀᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋ when they discovered the pregnancy was ectopic and would have to be ᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ. She was incredibly angry and severely depressed. It took me a long time to realise that the ectopic pregnancy happened for a reason. It was like my body saying: “Don’t worry, you are going to be a mum but not yet, your body isn’t ready, let’s ʙᴇᴀᴛ this ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ first”.
Doctors ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇd the ᴛᴜᴍᴏᴜʀ and her remaining Fᴀʟʟᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛᴜʙᴇ in November 2013 to stop the ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ sᴘʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ, ᴇʟɪᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜᴘʟᴇ’s ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴏF ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠɪɴɢ naturally. But just a month later they started I.V.F, determined to start a family. Shortly after they discovered it had been successful and a year later they welcomed daughter Zoey, now three.
After an ‘incredible’ year and a half of being parents, Virginia said she felt like she wanted to have another child. Following an unsuccessful round of I.V.F, the parents discovered they were having twins. A week later they discovered one of the embryos had split in two and that they would have triplets. Two weeks after that, they were given the news that two babies were sharing one sac and she was actually carrying quadruplets – three identical girls and a boy. 
‘It was such an emotional rollercoaster,’ Virginia said. ‘I went from being excited for twins, to being ᴏᴠᴇʀᴡʜᴇʟᴍᴇᴅ at the idea of triplets and then being completely gob sᴍᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ that I was pregnant with quadruplets.
Virginia carried her quadruplets to 32 weeks before a scheduled ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀɪᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ, where all babies were delivered safely. Six weeks later, the family came home.
