“Miracle Baby” Caroline Mae Wilson was delivered into the world at 12:05 p.m. Friday, May 6, making her eight-weeks-old this Friday.
Proud parents, Calvin and Kara Wilson, were married on Sept. 26, 2014 and had dreams of raising a family.
“We tried conceiving for seven years without success,” Kara Wilson said. “We tried right away.”
The Wilsons sought professional medical advice within that time period. They were reassured by physicians that conception could take time. Time was slowly ticking on by.
They felt something was wrong. As it turned out, they were right. She had endometriosis and required surgery to clear away remaining scar tissue.
“Both of us had issues,” said Wislon. “Both of us had to take medications. I had three IUI’s.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a type of artificial insemination in which sperm is placed into the uterus during ovulation to fertilize the egg and/or eggs.
The treatments did not work, and professionals eventually discouraged her from further IUI procedures.
“I wanted to take a break too,” said Wilson. “I was sick of taking medication.”
That is when she heard “Shelli’s story.”
Being a mother was something A Cut Above the Rest Salon and Spa Hair Stylist Shelli Bishop wanted more than anything else in the entire world.
“When my husband (Jesse) and I decided to start a family, we assumed it would happen naturally,” Bishop said.
The couple tried for several years to no avail. They made the decision to do something about it, despite any financial burden.
“We saw a fertility specialist,” said Bishop. “This began a long process of testing, medical procedures, taking medications, and the loss of a baby. It was extremely difficult both physically and emotionally.”
Nearly a decade had passed and the Bishops had not conceived. This led to the adoption of their eldest son, Channing.
Shortly after, the Bishops naturally conceived two sons.
“This was nothing short of a miracle,” Bishop said. “Our family is now complete with three healthy, blond, blue eyed, wild little boys.”
Bishop felt blessed to have a family of her own, but recognized others were suffering from infertility and miscarriages.
“When a family receives an infertility diagnosis, it can be heartbreaking,” said Bishop. “They are also faced with the hardship of the actual costs of moving forward with testing, infertility, treatments, or adoption expenses. The financial costs can be overwhelming and it’s just not possible for some families to proceed with the dream of starting a family.”
Then, one night Bishop had a vision motivating her to help other couples experiencing infertility issues.
“I had a dream about a fashion show,” said Bishop. “It was vivid and clear and nothing short of magnificent. When I woke up, I instantly knew that I needed to help a family.”
In the dream, Bishop hosted a fashion show fundraiser. The money earned would help loving couples like themselves.
Bishop called her mother the very next day to tell her about the dream – “She said ‘Go with it, I love it.’”
Bishop immediately got to work organizing two fashion shows with the help of a few like-minded friends.
The first-ever show, “UNCHAINED,” was hosted by A Cut Above and organized by Tara Kelgar from PHAT Boutique on Oct. 5, 2019. It raised approximately $2,500.
The fashion for “UNCHAINED II” was donated by Janice Nicholls and conducted on Oct. 23, 2021 to bring in a whopping $4,400.
Then, Chippewa County Community Foundation Executive Director Deborah Jones got wind of what was going on in town and collaborated with Bishop to set-up the Infertility Awareness and Support Fund.
“She came to me and wanted to start a fund to help families suffering from infertility,” said Jones. “We partnered with her to start the infertility fund. There was a $500 grant given to one family and a $3,600 given to another.”
The Wilsons just so happened to be that lucky couple.
Wilson reached out to Bishop in 2018, one year prior to the 2019 fashion show.
“Her story was an encouragement,” said Wislon. “We decided to pursue adoption. We put money toward fees and medications. We were in the adoption pool for two years, waiting for a family to contact us.”
Time continued ticking away and the phone never rang.
“We contacted other adoption agencies," said Wilson. "They were all slow. We pulled out of the adoption agency we were with.”
That’s when an obstetrician-gynecologist told Wislon about In vitro fertilization (IVF).
Mayo Clinic has described IVF as a series of procedures used to help with fertility and/or prevent genetic problems. Mature eggs are retrieved from ovaries and fertilized by sperm. The fertilized eggs are transferred to the uterus. One full IVF cycle takes about three weeks.
“We went for one round in New York because it was significantly cheaper than here,” said Wilson. “The doctor in New York believes everyone should be able to conceive. My OBGYN was the one who told us. The first time, it failed. I did it again last September.”
The remainder of the money received from Bishop’s fashion show went to Wilson’s IVF medications.
“I was emotional and worried the egg wouldn’t stick,” said Wilson.
Everything came together in the end. The couple's healthy baby girl was born three weeks early in May.
“She smiles back and looks like she is talking,” Wilson said. “I feel like she is going to roll soon.
I am grateful to have these moments. I don’t want to take a single moment for granted.”
Like her new friend, Bishop, Wilson hopes to help inform people about infertility and miscarriage.
“I just wish more people were aware of infertility issues,” said Wilson. “There are a lot of people who can’t have kids. The cost of adoption is insane. One agency wanted $15,000 before a consultation.”
Wilson did not wish to disclose the name of that agency, but did share that total adoption costs would have been around $30,000.
Her message to couples hitting roadblocks to building families is never to give up.
