Plainfield Magazine August 2022

AUGUST 2022

MAGAZINE

DIFFERENCE MAKERS KIWANIS CLUB OF PLAINFIELD CLOSES IN ON 50 YEARS OF LOCAL SERVICE UP TO SPEED CATCHING UP WITH KASEY COLER OF LUCAS OIL INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK

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Kiwanis Club of Plainfield Closes in on 50 Years of Local Service

Catching Up With Kasey Coler of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

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24

HOPE AND HEALING REAL-TIME ANALYTICS Scan the QR code to see this magazine’s real-time reach and distribution numbers.

UP TO SPEED

Local Charity Event Series Raises Funds and Awareness for Suicide Prevention

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HERE WE GO AGAIN… A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

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NEW LIFE

THE SKY’S NOT THE LIMIT

Two Female Hendricks County Aviators Take Flight

The Singhs Welcome Parenthood After Long Struggle

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DIFFERENCE MAKERS KIWANIS CLUB OF PLAINFIELD CLOSES IN ON 50 YEARS OF LOCAL SERVICE

launched a yearlong challenge, collecting baby supplies once per quarter for Hendricks County’s Healthy Families.

These items included diapers, bottles, wipes and formula. Mercy Base divided into four teams to make the first-quarter challenge a fun, competitive event.

“It’s fun to get people fired up about helping people in need,” Hovermale says.

“Pastor Ron Porter works hard making connections with community members daily,” says Captain Jack Sadler, enforcement division commander for Hendricks County. “After learning of the diaper challenge, many Hendricks County employees, along with other community members, made donations.”

David Schall, nutrition coach at The Energy Spot in Avon, engaged his customers in the diaper challenge as well.

“My wife and I decided to run a promotion through our business and customers brought in diapers to support the cause,” Schall says. “It was amazing to watch our community give back.”

Ultimately, they amassed 18,000 diapers.

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

youth about the importance of leadership and service.

“This partnership between Kiwanis and Mercy Base has been out of this world,” says Lori Lee, president of the Kiwanis Club of Plainfield. “The kind, serving hearts they have have made our club very successful and helped us blossom.”

The Kiwanis Club of Plainfield is nearing its 50th anniversary. The club, which started in 1974, has done a lot of good through the past five decades. Though numbers have fluctuated through the years, currently they have nearly 100 members. This counts the Plainfield Schools Key Club, which is devoted to teaching children and

Rob Hovermale and Ron Porter are two of the four pastors at Mercy Base Church who joined the Kiwanis Club in the summer of 2019, eager to make community connections with great organizations like Hendricks County’s Healthy Families. In early 2022 Hovermale and his church members

Porter never misses a Kiwanis meeting because he loves finding opportunities to partner up. For instance, Mercy Base utilizes their volunteers to help with the annual Kiwanis golf outing. They have also partnered with Kiwanis and Fabric Care to assist in the Coats for the Community program. Last fall they gave

6 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / AUGUST 2022 / TownePost.com

Collecting donations

out 130 coats to more than 75 families.

“Pastor Rob hosts Kiwanis’ holiday dinners, and in the winter partners with Jack’s Donuts to pass out pizzas, blankets, socks and subzero sleeping bags to the homeless,” Lee says.

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Mercy Base partners with the Kiwanis Club for a benefit ride to raise money for scholarships for the Plainfield Youth Assistance Program.

“We enjoy what that program is all about,” Hovermale says. “We want to make sure we help out where there is a need.”

Jerry Sheffer, a member of Mercy Base, spent much of his life living paycheck to paycheck. In recent years he has become more financially stable and eager to help others. One day he asked Hovermale if the church’s outreach team could bring bounce houses, snow-cone machines and a deejay to a run-down apartment complex. The mission? To put smiles on the faces of the residents. For four hours they cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, served cotton candy, offered face painting and provided bounce houses. That same outreach team travels all over the state and even to other states to encourage businesses and churches. As for Sheffer, the opportunity provided a sense of worth and pride that he hadn’t felt for a long time.

Through Kiwanis, Hovermale has created partnerships with multiple businesses in the community.

“What that does is allow us out in the street,” he says.

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For instance, through a partnership with Meineke Car Care, Hovermale can send any single mom to get a free oil change. He has also partnered with Gill Insurance Advisors, Brain Balance Center, SunRift Capital Partners and Chick-fil-A. Hovermale’s outlook is really quite simple. He just wants to partner with people who are already doing good things in the community.

“Why reinvent the wheel?” he asks.

Now that Mercy Base has been a member of Kiwanis for three years, they no longer have to seek out partnerships. “Now people know us and call us,” Hovermale says.

For more on the Kiwanis Club of Plainfield, visit plainfieldkiwanis.org.

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HOPE AND HEALING

LOCAL CHARITY EVENT SERIES RAISES FUNDS AND AWARENESS FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

Described by his mother Shannon Shirven as “the defender of the underdog,” Gunnar Shirven was a sweet, charismatic guy who couldn’t stand to see anyone picked on or bullied.

“I think he felt that on a personal level, so he reacted by defending them,” Shirven says.

“He was smart, funny and charming.”

After graduating from high school in 2016, he joined the Marines.

“We were really proud of that decision,” Shirven says, speaking of her and her husband Rick, a veteran Indianapolis firefighter. Gunnar served until 2018.

Sadly, at age 22 Gunnar took his life, leaving Shannon and Rick stunned and heartbroken. As they wrestled with the

tsunami of emotions that followed, they held tight to the good memories - like the fact that he was the class clown who loved to make people laugh. He could quote many comedies from start to finish, and perfected different dialects so that he could deliver movie lines using various accents and voices. Besides being a brilliant entertainer, he was a phenomenal friend to many.

“It didn’t matter your status, if you had money or any of that,” Shirven says. “If Gunnar was your friend, he was your friend through thick and thin.”

As Shannon and Rick processed their grief, they turned to each other, God and their community to heal. The family decided early on that they would honor Gunnar’s legacy by choosing not to focus on his death, but rather on the laughter and joy AUGUST 2022

he brought to others. Not long after his passing, the Avon American Legion reached out to Shirven to let her know that they were doing a motorcycle fundraiser for veteran suicide. They asked if they could use Gunnar’s story to help spread awareness and she agreed.

“You have to positively direct your pain,” she says. “You can lie in bed and be depressed and angry, and look for people to blame, but nothing good comes from that. We decided that every day we were going to choose joy because that’s what Gunnar would want, not only for his own life, but for ours.”

The following year the Danville American Legion hosted a fundraiser. Shirven decided to make it an annual event, adding a jeep ride to the mix since Gunnar loved jeeps.

“I’m a party planner by birth,” she says with a chuckle. “That’s my special gift.”

That gift has served her well, as she created the Gunshow Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit event. Through trial and error, Shirven has learned what works and doesn’t work with fundraising. This year she and her family have decided to spread out their fundraisers across the summer, including one in July, one in August and three in September. Opting for several small events

AUGUST 2022

as opposed to one giant annual event seemed to make more sense (see sidebar for this year’s scheduled fundraisers).

“Gunnar loved so many things so we wanted to make a cycle of giving to honor our child, create fun activities and ultimately serve our community,” says Shirven, who has lived in Hendricks County for 23 years. She’s quick to point

Gunnar & Mom, Shannon

out that none of it would be possible without the help of her amazing group of friends.

“I have a vision, but I have an army of people behind me who help get it all done,” she says. “Every year I pray, ‘Lord, just let us make $1 more.’ ” So far that prayer has been answered. They raised $10,000 the first year, $12,500 the second year, $15,000 the third year and $26,000 last year.

Beneficiaries include the Danville Community Education Foundation, Danville Pee Wee Baseball, and items for Ellis Park.

“It’s such an honor to be able to give to our community while talking publicly about suicide and the residual effects it has on family and friends,” Shirven says. “It’s always shocking how many people come up to us during these events to share their stories. There’s a great need to talk about suicide, the stigma behind it and, of course, prevention.”

Part of this year’s funds will go toward Ellis Park again. The family wanted to do something that could not only memorialize Gunnar’s life, but also help anyone who is suffering loss. One of Rick’s fellow Indianapolis firefighters, Clyde Pennington, makes large-scale art. He’s creating a 20’x12’ tree out of stainless steel and copper that will be a permanent memorial art fixture at the park.

“People can buy a laser-cut leaf, and over the years it will become this massive windchime tree,” Shirven says. “The tree will be lit up from within for nighttime viewing, and will be surrounded by benches so loved ones can sit and reminisce.”

They’re also donating some of this year’s funds to the Lexi Fund in honor of Lexi Riggles, a recent Danville graduate who passed away last year. The Lexi Fund is paying for new cat condo structures at Misty Eyes Animal Center.

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“The reason we do this fundraising is to AUGUST 2022

IN MEMORY OF GUNNAR SHIRVEN AND SAM ARNONE, CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE FOLLOWING LOCAL EVENTS: Poolside Paint & Sip - August 6 at 4 p.m. with Danville’s Kerry Trout.

Located at 601 West Mill Street in Danville. Enjoy beer and wine, music, and art.

Jeep Ride - September 10. A 100-mile scenic ride starting at Gary Eakin Park in Danville. Arrive at 9:30 a.m., with a 10:30 a.m. departure.

Golf Cart Parade - September 11 at 1 p.m., at Ellis Park in Danville.

Pickleball - September 18 at 1 p.m., at Ellis Park in Danville.

Benefit Concert - September 24 at 6:30 p.m., at the Royal Theater in Danville, featuring Straight Davis and Josh Chalfant.

To purchase tickets to any of these events, become a sponsor, purchase a Gunshow Charity T-shirt or make a donation, visit thegunshowcharity.squarespace.com.

bring joy to others,” Shirven says.

“Plus, the way I see it, anywhere you go, you’re going to pay money for a concert, food or whatever.

This way, 100% of the money goes back into our community. That’s a win-win-win from every angle.”

Every year since Gunnar passed away, Shirven has felt her son’s presence on his birthday, often in her dreams. This year, however, she woke up despondent because she didn’t dream of Gunnar. But then she checked her phone messages and found that a friend of a friend

had just lost her son to suicide, and she didn’t know who to talk to.

“I thought, ‘That’s Gunnar, trying to help the underdog,’” says Shirven, who, after receiving that message, reached out to the mother of Sam Arnone, the young man who took his life. She shared her story and invited the mom to be a part of the Gunshow Charity. Shirven understands now, more than ever, her son’s propensity to help others, as she has found that the best way to navigate the grief process is by helping someone else heal.

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Amy Hills AUGUST 2022

The Sky’s Not the Limit

T WO F E M A L E H E N DR IC KS C O U N T Y AVI ATO R S TA KE F L IG H T Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

she owned her own airplane was even more rare.”

Airplanes have always fascinated Amy Hills.

In 2017 her husband bought her a discovery flight through Hendricks County Aviation.

This meant she got to fly around the area in a small aircraft with an instructor.

At the time Hills didn’t have a plane of her own, and she logged flight hours with Smith.

“There are very few women pilots in the world - fewer than 7% - so to find out there was another female pilot in Hendricks County was great,” Hills says. “To learn that

This past June, Smith and Hills competed in the Air Race Classic (ARC), a 2,500mile women’s race during which pilots experience changes in terrain, weather,

“Every weekend I’d fly for an hour or two and ask Amy if she wanted to go,” says “It was the greatest thing I’ve ever done in Smith, who flies on evenings and weekends my life,” Hills says. Although it was meant just for the fun of it. A significant number to be a one-time joy ride, Hills knew, deep of general aviation pilots fall into that boat down, that she was just getting started. She (or plane, as the case may be). Smith isn’t went on to get her private instrument rating, looking to make a career out of it. She just ground instructor rating, commercial rating, likes the time-machine aspect of flying. and ultimately became a certified flight instructor, making her the only female flight “This past weekend I flew up to see my sister instructor in Hendricks County. She also in Chicago,” Smith says. “That’s typically a got an airplane. three-and-a-half- to four-hour drive, but in the air it’s an hour going up and an hour and “My husband and I still laugh about how 20 minutes coming back. Flying gives you that was the single most expensive gift he’s back so much of your time.” ever given me,” she says.

Hills, a former software engineer, agrees, Her two daughters were so young when as she and her husband like to fly up to Hills began flying that they don’t know life Michigan to see family for the day. Her without airplanes. In fact, whenever it’s time favorite endeavor, though, is taking people to go visit their grandparents, the girls ask, up in the air for their first ride.

“Are we taking the plane or the car?”

“It’s such a thrill - especially children,” she Hendricks County resident Joelene Smith says. was bit by the flying bug nearly three decades ago. In September of 2017 she She recalls a little girl’s description of the purchased a Beechcraft Bonanza A36 and land’s topography from a bird’s-eye view. was showing it off at the Hendricks County Airport during an annual chili cook-off.

“She had a big grin on her face as she looked When Hills met Smith, it was friendship out the window and said, ‘Wow, the trees fate. look like broccoli!’” Hills says.

AUGUST 2022

Amy receiving her pilot’s license

winds and airspace as they fly throughout four days in June. Participating in the ARC is one of the first topics Hills and Smith discussed when they became friends.

“It takes this highly skilled female pilot population, which is spread out across the country, and puts us all in one place at one time,” Hills says.

The annual race, which began in 1929 and typically attracts about 120 women per year, has a route that changes yearly. This year’s race began in Lakeland, Florida, and ended in Terra Haute, Indiana, which enabled friends and family members to cheer the pair on at the end.

“WE WANT TO SHOW YOUNG GIRLS AND BOYS THAT AIRPLANES ARE COOL, WHETHER THEY ARE FLOWN FOR A CAREER OR FOR A HOBBY.” - JOELENE SMITH Amy & Joelene taking flight

“It was an absolutely incredible experience,” Hills says. “We learned so much about flying, about different parts of the country, and what a great flying team we make. We made good decisions and also ones we would change for races in the future, but we made them all as a team.”

Nothing is better than fulfilling a lifelong goal, and that’s precisely what Hills accomplished with this race.

“It’s been an incredible blessing to be able to participate in an event with the history AUGUST 2022

Amy taking her family for a flight

of this one,” says Hills, noting that they did it to raise awareness about the huge gender gap in aviation and allow women everywhere to see that this field is accessible to all. “I’m so proud to have added my name to the list of the amazing women who have gone before us to pave the way.”

Aviation has always been a male-dominated field. Initially, commercial airlines wouldn’t hire women. Since few women are seen flying, many girls likely think it’s not an opportunity for them. Plus, if you don’t log the time you need, you aren’t even eligible for the job. It takes 1,500 hours of flying to even apply for regional airlines.

“Women think, ‘I can’t do that so why put in the time, effort and money when they’re just going to tell me no anyway?’” Hills says. “As a child I was told, ‘That’s a man’s field.’ The more people who see me flying an airplane, the more normal it becomes.”

Though it’s not uncommon to occasionally field sexist remarks, Hills and Smith are thankful for the support they have received from those at the Hendricks County Airport.

“They donated money to sponsor us in the race and came to the terminal to root us on,” Hills says. “They told us, ‘Go out there and show what you ladies can do!’”

As a team, Smith and Hills have spent more than a thousand hours flying small aircraft, and regularly volunteer with youth aviation organizations such as the Young Eagles program, which gives youth aged 8 to 17 free discovery flights.

“We want to show young girls and boys that AUGUST 2022

airplanes are cool, whether they are flown for a career or for a hobby,” Smith says.

“It’s an incredible thing when you can do something that you’re exceptionally passionate about, but also get to expand the community around that,” Hills says. “It’s cool to be able to bring kids in, to bring in new pilots and bring back rusty pilots. I’m blessed beyond anything I could ever have dreamed.”

Hills is pleased that she’s starting to see more female aviation students.

“The more women pilots who show up, the more normal it becomes,” she says. “Back in the day all pilots used to be men and the ground crew were their wives. We’re changing that, one plane ride at time.”

EXPIRES 9-30-22

Hendricks County Airport-Gordon Graham Field is located at 2749 Gordon Graham Boulevard in Danville. To learn more about aviation lessons, email Hills at amy@hills. training.

AUGUST 2022

UP TO SPEED Catching Up With Kasey Coler of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Amy Payne

When Kasey Coler was growing up, every Labor Day weekend (which also happens to be his birthday weekend) his dad would drive them to the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park to watch qualifications for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) U.S. Nationals. While Coler enjoyed the fast cars and fun atmosphere, there was something else that caught his attention.

“Even at that early age, I was super interested in what brings all of these people together from an entertainment perspective,” says Coler, who noticed that everyone seemed to fall in love not only with the event, but also the pageantry, the celebration and the spectacle.

As for Coler, he fell in love with the idea of working in the motorsports industry, so that’s exactly what he pursued. He attended Indiana University and landed an internship at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) during his senior year.

Following graduation, he worked at the IMS for four years before transferring across the street to IndyCar for the next six years, primarily working in marketing.

Then one day, out of the blue, he got a call with a job offer in Pueblo, Colorado, to oversee marketing for the Professional Bull Riders organization.

Kasey Coler AUGUST 2022

“At the time the organization was growing by leaps and bounds,” Coler says. “I told my wife Laura that that job would teach

me everything about live entertainment.”

The couple moved to Colorado in March of 2014. Coler quickly learned the similarities and differences between bull riding and race-car driving.

“There’s an entertainment aspect to racing, but it’s not as simple as turning down the lights and shooting off fireworks because racetracks are big and people are spread out,” Coler says.

“When you have everyone circled around a singular entertainer, that’s a lot easier than having two and a half miles of activity going on where you’ve got to entertain folks in different areas.”

The sports share common ground, however, in the sensory experiences that both provide.

“These things don’t translate across a television screen,” he says. “You have to feel it, see it and smell it.”

While he was in Pueblo, the NHRA,

based out of Los Angeles, offered him a job taking over their marketing. Since Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is in Brownsburg, they told him he could work from there.

Coler started at the NHRA as vice president of marketing, before moving to the track side full time and becoming vice president of track operations and management. Coler, who also carries the general manager title for Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, manages a total of three tracks (Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida, and Pomona Raceway in Pomona, California). He focuses most of his energy, however, on the Brownsburg track, which was built in 1961 and whose layout has remained untouched. That’s about to change, however. With support from the Town of Brownsburg, they are building a new boulevard that will serve as the facility’s new front door off of Ronald Reagan Parkway. Currently the front door is off AUGUST 2022

of Crawfordsville Road, where guests always have to pass over active railroad tracks.

“That becomes a bit of a hazard, especially when traffic starts to back up,” Coler says, noting that in addition to traffic patterns, the leaders of the project are thinking about parking lot drainage, concession stands and building upgrades.

“It’s all part of a multiyear plan by the NHRA to modernize the facility and continue to reinvest in this property,” Coler says.

He and Laura have twin 5-year-old daughters named Emerson and Leighton.

In their free time the family likes to go hiking, biking and scootering. A downside to working in Coler’s business is having to put in a lot of hours during prime vacation time.

“If you enjoy going to the lake every weekend in the summer, then working at a racetrack is probably not the right

career for you,” Coler says, noting that the track’s busy season is considered April 1 through October 31, though Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is open yearround as they host many non-motorsport events. For instance, they host municipal voting, and for a stretch they hosted COVID-19 vaccination clinics. They also host 5Ks and hospitality events.

“In doing these things we attract new folks to the facility,” Coler says. “With as much acreage as we have here, it’s nice to be able to host so many diverse events.”

Not everybody knows that Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was built with three components.

“We’re known for our quarter-mile drag strip because we host the world’s biggest drag race, the U.S. Nationals, over Labor Day weekend,” Coler says. Each year more than 1,000 competitors move into Brownsburg for about a week, creating almost a city within a city. In addition, they host more than 120,000 fans throughout the course of five days. They AUGUST 2022

also have an oval track that originally started off as a dirt track, and spans seven-tenths of a mile. It’s where A.J. Foyt won his first-ever race.

“That oval track has as much history as the drag strip from the folks who came out here, raced and won,” Coler says.

“Many careers have started out there and transferred over to IndyCar or NASCAR.” Finally, they have a two-and-a-half-mile road course that has sat dormant for the past 10 years. The road course also has a lot of history, as it hosted IndyCar’s first-ever road course race. This is where Mario Andretti won his first IndyCar race.

Each year between 300,000 and 400,000 people pass through the gates of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, some coming from a few miles down the road while others trek from across the country.

“We’re in a unique position because Brownsburg has become a hub from a drag racing perspective,” Coler says.

“This is where the racing industry lives.”

It’s true. Roughly 90% of the professional teams are based here or have some type of footprint here. This is why, if you go out to lunch in Brownsburg on any random day, you’re bound to run into someone from the drag racing or general racing community.

Coler notes that when they host Wild Wednesdays, when pedestrians can bring their street cars and go down the drag strip, a number of professionals usually bring their kids to participate.

“We just take it for granted that, ‘Oh yeah, that might be Antron Brown right next to me,’” Coler says. “That’s pretty cool.”

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is located at 10267 East U.S. Highway 136 in Indianapolis. For more information, call 317-969-8600 or visit raceirp.com.

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AUGUST 2022

HERE WE GO AGAIN… A NEW SCHOOL YEAR Writer / Dr. Akaber Elkhamra, Riley Children’s Health Pediatrician at IU Health West Hospital Photography Provided

The 2022-2023 school year has just started.

You are just getting over the enormous effort you put into getting your kids ready for this school year. Here are a few things to keep in mind for a successful school year:

• SLEEP AND SCHEDULES: Do your best to establish healthy routines, the same bedtime, and the same wakeup time to help your child do better in school, even on the weekends. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine provides general guidelines for total hours of sleep a child needs within 24 hours, including naps. For example, 6- to 12-year-olds need between nine and

12 hours of sleep, while 13- to 18-yearolds need between eight and 10 hours.

Children who sleep well tend to behave well and do better in school.

• HOMEWORK TIME: Set a daily time for your child to finish homework.

It will be a lot easier to spend 10 minutes daily over five days than to spend close to an hour in one evening in order to finish all work needed for the week.

Have a quiet area in the house to finish homework, away from distractions.

• ESTABLISH HOUSEHOLD RULES ABOUT SCREENS AND TV TIME: Set priorities for your family.

Carve out time for meals, talk about your day, and have time for homework and extracurricular activities. Daily exercise will help your children sleep better. If you have time left over, you may allow screen AUGUST 2022

time, which should be no more than one hour daily, and that includes screen time to finish work. Spending time as a family, whether it is during mealtimes, doing chores or folding laundry, creates strong bonds and opportunities for conversations and discussions.

• TEACHER TIME: Touch base with your child’s teacher on a regular basis. Monitor grades and homework completion. Take action during the first quarter of the year - don’t wait!

Finally, take a moment to pat yourself on the back for being a parent. Parenting is not easy. Remember, it is a marathon, not a sprint. Build on progress and good habits.

If your child is struggling, reach out to your pediatrician. We are always happy to help.

Cheers to another successful school year!

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Leo with parents Stephanie & Prince

26 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / AUGUST 2022 / TownePost.com

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

Two years into matrimony, Stephanie Singh and her husband Prince began to get serious about trying to start a family.

Unfortunately, as is often the case but rarely addressed openly, the couple struggled to conceive.

“Nothing was happening and my intuition was telling me something wasn’t right,” Singh says. In the summer of 2018 the pair saw a fertility doctor and underwent testing, which revealed that Prince had low sperm counts. Couple that with her irregular cycles, and Singh felt it was a double whammy of bad luck. In the spring of 2019 she was prescribed medication

and began going to a reproductive acupuncture specialist, but still was never greeted with a double line on a pregnancy test.

“I thought, ‘Maybe this is God’s way of saying it wasn’t my time,’” Singh says. Life got even more difficult in the months to follow. In April of 2020 Singh’s fatherin-law contracted COVID-19 and was on a ventilator for five months. The following month, they tried one round of intrauterine insemination (IUI), which involves placing sperm directly into the uterus.

This is different than in vitro fertilization (IVF), during which the sperm and egg are put together outside of the uterus and

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implanted. Singh wasn’t able to complete IUI treatment because her follicles didn’t mature. It served as an additional heartbreak in this already difficult process.

“It was another reminder that this was not our time,” Singh says. “I’d sit on the couch and cry and cry. I tried not to think about the fact that I wasn’t pregnant, but that’s hard to do when I was getting a monthly reminder of not being a mom.”

With so much stress in their lives, the couple decided to suspend treatments and put their baby plans on the back-burner.

In December of 2020, once her fatherin-law was on the mend, they saw Dr. Meredith Provost with the Indiana Fertility Institute for a second opinion.

She suggested they do genetic testing prior to IVF. In January of 2021 the couple was shocked to learn that Singh was a carrier for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe type of

muscular dystrophy where muscles weaken beginning around age 4 and

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quickly worsen. It primarily affects boys, meaning that if Singh were to have a son, he would have a 50% chance of inheriting the DMD gene. If she had a daughter, she would be a carrier like Singh.

Welcoming Leo to the world

After doing some research, Singh learned that most children with the DMD gene are wheelchair bound by age 5 to 8. Worse yet, the life expectancy for these individuals is mid-20s. Singh was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which explained her irregular periods. The Singhs decided IVF would be their best bet, so that they could test their embryos for DMD before implementation. The plan was to do so in May of 2021.

In March of 2021 Singh attended a co-worker’s baby shower, which was emotionally difficult considering all she was going through.

“When I saw other pregnant women, all I could think was, ‘Why can’t it be me?’” she says. “I felt so guilty feeling that way.

I was like, ‘God’s not going to give me something if I’m envious of someone else.’

I was in a toxic, negative space.”

When she returned home from the shower, she cried and cried. She was despondent, but she couldn’t help noticing something else - her breasts were tender. Could it be that after all the years of trials, tests and tears, she got pregnant naturally?

This time, when she took the test, the double line appeared and happy tears sprang to her eyes. After sharing the joyful news with her husband, however, reality set in. What if she had a boy? There would be a 50-50 chance that he’d inherit the DMD gene.

“It haunted me, but we couldn’t help but think that after all we’d been through, this was God’s gift to us,” Singh says. “DMD or not, this was meant to be our baby.”

Throughout the pregnancy, there were times when worry would grab hold of Singh and practically paralyze her.

28 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / AUGUST 2022 / TownePost.com

“Some days, thinking about the probability of passing DMD to my child crippled me,” she says. She did her best not to freak out, but it wasn’t easy.

Thankfully, she had a fairly uneventful pregnancy, though she did learn in October of 2021 that due to having a narrow pelvic bone, she’d need to have a C-section. The upside? Six minutes after being on the operating table, their baby Leo was born.

Prince announced, “It’s a boy!”

Singh breathlessly asked, “OMG, is he okay?”

Though their infant son appeared fine, they wouldn’t know if Leo was a DMD carrier until he was tested.

“Though it was not considered a medical emergency, for me it was an emergency,” Singh says. Over the course of the next several months, Leo held his head up and did tummy time, but Singh kept in mind that DMD is a progressive disease that doesn’t begin until the child starts walking. Therefore, she felt like she was parenting while holding her breath.

She received a genetic testing kit in the mail during Easter weekend, swabbed her son, said a prayer and sent it off. A week later, they got the results. Leo did not inherit the DMD gene. Singh admits that she’ll never stop worrying, but her biggest takeaway from this whole experience has been recognizing just how little we control in life.

“I’m a control freak, but I had to learn to have faith that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to,” Singh says.

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“Even if it’s not the way I want it to work out, it’s the way God wants.”

Leo, it seems, lacks the worry gene, as he appears to be over-the-moon excited just to be taking in the world around him.

According to Singh, he wakes up smiling and has never met a stranger.

“He flirts with the cashiers at Target,” says Singh, who appreciates, perhaps more than the average parent, just how strong Leo’s grip is.

After much anticipation, frustration and hesitation, Stephanie and Prince are living the dream of parenthood.

“I love seeing the world through my son’s eyes,” Singh says. “He points out cars on the road. He loves trees and flowers.

Everything is so new to him. We can learn a lot through babies. They remind us that there are so many beautifully simple things in life.”

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