After a long, hard struggle, the Hardys received their miracle

By MIKE BOLLINGER

CLAYTON — It took more than 11 years and a lot of setbacks along the way, but Shorni and Patrick Hardy of Clayton received their miracle in October.

That miracle came in the form of Lili-Grace Patria Hardy, born Oct. 23 at 7:55 a.m. Lili-Grace weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. All that sounds like the result of a normal pregnancy and childbirth.

It was anything but.

Patrick is from New York and Shorni from Jamaica. The couple met in college.

Patrick and Shorni enjoy a moment with Lili.

The journey toward having a family started in 2010, when after five years of marriage and struggling to start a family, a trip to the doctor revealed that Shorni couldn’t have children naturally. They decided to start the process of in vitro fertilization treatments, which Shorni described as “a lot of treatments and a lot of shots.”

They then learned that one of Shorni’s ovaries was twisted, and emergency surgery was performed. The first four embryos were transferred, but Shorni was still unable to become pregnant. In 2012, the Hardys moved to North Carolina, and in 2015 decided to try transferring embryos again. Two were transferred, but again Shorni was not pregnant. They waited another two years, and decided to transfer the final embryo. Again, the process failed.

Six months after the final transfer, they decided to try being foster parents. That didn’t work out, and Shorni and Patrick decided against using a surrogate mother.

In addition to the physical struggles, she said there were “a lot of obstacles that we had to endure involving close friends and family.”

We were officially done. We closed the door on that chapter in our lives,” Shorni said. “I let go of all hope.”

“We gave up. We threw in the towel. We closed that chapter and were devastated it didn’t work,” Patrick said.

During this time, Shorni said she was feeling she had less value because she wasn’t able to have a child.

“As a woman, we have a superpower, so to speak, to be able to bring life into the world. Because I wasn’t able to do that, I felt less valued,” she said.

Shorni and Patrick are people of strong faith, and Shorni said she relied on that faith to help the feeling of having no value go away. “I asked God to remove the feeling of not being valued. I said I understood it was His will for me not to have children,” she said. “The feeling eventually went away.”

In March of this year, Shorni wasn’t feeling well and decided to go to the doctor. “I just felt like something was wrong and wanted to find out what it was,” she said.

Knowing the doctor would likely ask if she was pregnant, she decided to take a pregnancy test even though she had been told there was no way she could have children. “I started laughing. I felt the Holy Spirit speaking in my ear, but I didn’t want to hear it. It didn’t seem possible,” Shorni said.

She took the test. It showed she was pregnant. “I started screaming,” she said.

She then called Patrick at work, and he quickly went home. They got more tests, all different brands to make sure one brand wouldn’t give the same result. They ended up with five tests. All showed she was pregnant.

“The world just kind of stopped,” Shorni said.

“I still didn’t think it was real,” Patrick said. In 2015, Shorni had to have surgery to remove fibroids and asked at that time if her tubes could be unblocked, and was told no. “When I found out I was pregnant, I began thinking if God had created a tunnel,” she said. Just as the process leading up to her pregnancy had been a struggle, so was the pregnancy itself. “I was sick all the time. It was a nightmare. It really was,” Shorni said.

If the pregnancy was a nightmare, the childbirth would have to be described as something worse. Soon after giving birth, Shorni’s blood pressure dropped to 77/40 and she was in and out of consciousness. She was bleeding internally and her hemoglobin levels were dropping. She had multiple episodes of hypotension and became unresponsive several times. Her blood pressure would not stabilize.

“I knew something really bad was wrong. I was wondering if this was it,” she said. “I had a vision of Patrick having to raise the baby by himself. I started to pray.”

“For a split second, the thought crossed my mind that I would have to raise the baby alone. I had just seen the movie ‘Fatherhood’ with Kevin Hart where he had to raise a child after his wife died,” Patrick said.

However, he said he quickly dismissed such thoughts. “I thought God was still working and this was part of his plan all along. I just had to have faith,” Patrick said.

At one point, the decision was made to transfer Shorni to Rex Hospital in Raleigh for surgery to attempt to stop the internal bleeding. Because she was in and out of consciousness, her doctor decided to call a colleague in Smithfield who had performed similar surgery and the decision was made to have her remain at Johnston Health in Clayton.

The Hardys posed for a family Christmas photo. Shorni, Lili and Patrick were joined by family dogs Larry and Luna.

The fibroids had adhered to her uterus and her bowels, and any error in manipulation could have caused a rupture of her uterus. “They told me after everything was done that if they had decided to make the transfer, I probably wouldn’t have made it to Raleigh,” Shorni said.

When the surgery was performed, doctors removed 8 pounds of fibroids, more than the weight of the baby. In all, Shorni received six units of blood and three units of platelets. “The doctors didn’t know how it was possible that I became pregnant and carried the baby full term,” she said.

In the end, the decision was made to remove her entire uterus.

Shorni said she believes the experience was the result of God preparing her for a testimony. “We struggled a lot. Sometimes we feel our faith is not where it is supposed to be. All of this has renewed our faith. God is truly in the miracle working business,” she said.

She said she spoke with her brother recently when he was preparing for a job interview and wished him good luck. “He told me he didn’t need luck and told me if I could get pregnant, anything was possible,” Shorni said.

“God looks at the impossible and makes it possible. He shows us that anything is possible through Christ,” she continued. “We went through this, and I know there are people going through similar situations. Sometimes you end up losing faith. We want people to see my story and know that God still works miracles. I’m a testament that God works miracles. We want people to look at our testimony and hope it will help renew their faith.”

Shorni and Patrick are local filmmakers, and have had two movies premiere at the Howell Theater in Smithfield in recent years. “One of our movies was called ‘Provision.’ God provides for people. I feel like God has been working this whole time. His timing is perfect,” Patrick said.

“Had we gotten pregnant earlier, we would have been way less prepared. God allowed us time to prepare. We have a home, and we are OK financially,” Shorni said. “Lili is a miracle, and I believe she came here for a purpose.”

They said they received a lot of help and support. Shorni said she was given three baby showers.

“I can’t express enough appreciation for the medical team at Johnston Health in Clayton. “I want to make sure to thank their staff. They were angels. I really think so. I believe I was in the right place at the right time with the right people. Dr. Woodard and his medical team were amazing,” Shorni said.

She said her case has become a roundtable discussion topic at Johnston Health and is being used to help the hospital become more prepared in case a similar situation arises again.

“A lot of people were praying for us, including relatives and friends in Florida, North Carolina and Jamaica. We are so thankful that in our time of need, people rallied around me. They lifted our situation up to God, and we are thankful to those wonderful folks,” she said.

They said they named her Lili-Grace because God has given them grace. In addition, the meaning of Lili is peace, Shorni said.

“She is our miracle baby. She is being spoiled rotten by her grandparents and has her dad wrapped around her pinkie,” Shorni said. “She is our Thanksgiving and Christmas miracle.”

Since returning home, Shorni said the family is doing well. “Everybody is good. Lili is eating a lot. She’s Daddy’s girl and Mama’s world,” she said.

For now, the Hardys want what all parents of newborns want.

“We’re just trying to get some sleep,” they said.