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“Because I ended up in the ICU, I met the doctor who was the instrument God used to deliver this miracle. I was able to carry my own baby with my own egg.”
Darlene Worsley’s journey to motherhood started with “a rollercoaster of hopes and heartbreaks,” and concluded with a story of resilience, perseverance, and the arrival of her newborn daughter, Siera.
Years ago, Darlene dreamed of finishing her education, starting her career, and starting her own family. She was driven to succeed – after graduating from high school and college, and obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from New Jersey Institute of Technology, Darlene began her own version of the American Dream: She purchased her first home and embarked on a public service career that has spanned nearly 25 years. Throughout her career, she has served with the U.S. Department of the Army, the U.S. Department of the Navy, and now the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
But, just as Darlene’s lifelong dreams were unfolding, unexpected obstacles threatened to derail her plans.
“For me, the fairy tale did not unfold as I dreamed. Life intervened with storms and unexpected detours,” Darlene said.
Following her annual checkup, Darlene discovered that multiple fibroid tumors were actively growing in her uterus. After consulting with a specialist at a hospital in New York City, Darlene was advised to have a Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) also known as an Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE), a procedure that ultimately was unsuccessful.
“After a few difficult years, I was 38, sitting anxiously in the OB/GYN’s office while working in California. Hearing the doctor say that my age and the UFE procedure made pregnancy nearly impossible felt like a crushing blow. I had believed the Uterine Artery Embolization would simply treat my fibroids, never realizing it would starve my entire uterus of blood. The pain deepened when my primary doctor told me the procedure was unsuccessful. Instead of shrinking, the fibroid tumors were growing larger, consuming more and more of my uterus,” Darlene said.
After experiencing some difficult losses and overwhelming circumstances while working in California, Darlene decided to accept another job that brought her back home to New Jersey. She wanted to try to become a Single Mother by Choice and have an intrauterine insemination (IUI) at a fertility clinic. She underwent all of the diagnostic and genetic testing and interviews to see if she was capable of going through this process. During this time,she discovered that both of her fallopian tubes were blocked. In an effort to carry her own child, Darlene began a cycle of In Vetro Fertilization (IVF), that unfortunately proved to be unsuccessful. Darlene was told that she would not be able to carry a baby, and that the only viable path was via a surrogate using donor eggs.
In another effort to remove the fibroid tumors, Darlene underwent surgery in what was supposed to be a same-day outpatient procedure at an ambulatory facility, and was ultimately unsuccessful in removing the tumors. In yet another setback, Darlene was in a nonresponsive state, after a near fatal case of Aspiration Pneumonia following her surgery and was transferred to Hudson Regional Hospital.
Despite what seemed like another devastating medical setback, she finally caught the break she had been waiting for. Darlene awoke in the Intensive Care Unit at Secaucus University Hospital where she was stabilized, and eventually introduced to Hudson Regional Health’s Director of Female Pelvic Reconstruction and Robotic Surgery, Dr. Yitzhack Asulin.
Dr. Asulin promptly scheduled a robotic myomectomy that removed the fibroid tumors – in what marked a turning point on Darlene’s path to motherhood.
“Dr. Asulin not only preserved my uterus, but he also totally reconstructed my uterus after performing the wedge procedure. This was in preparation to carry my own baby,” recalled Darlene.
After follow-up consultations with Dr. Asulin, approximately five months later Darlene began the intrauterine insemination (IUI) process, utilizing frozen sperm from a donor to fertilize her own eggs. Despite the doctor having thoroughly cleaned the uterus during surgery and following a few unsuccessful IUI cycles, a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) revealed that both of Darlene’s fallopian tubes were still blocked, “Dr. Asulin successfully forced both of my fallopian tubes open. I became pregnant the very next cycle; however, my body did not know it was a pregnancy.”
“In his infinite wisdom, Dr. Asulin checked my progesterone level after confirming the pregnancy. The test showed that my progesterone level was lower than it was supposed to be for a pregnancy. When I went to my local Emergency Room, they told me that I had two cysts on my ovaries and that there was no sac. However, when I followed up with Dr. Asulin, he confirmed the pregnancy loss and also confirmed there were not two cysts, but two egg follicles on my ovaries, waiting to be fertilized,” said Darlene.
Soon after, with Dr. Asulin’s ongoing guidance, Darlene began the insemination process again. When her pregnancy test finally came back positive, it marked a milestone she had been waiting for. Darlene used progesterone gel throughout the first trimester, until the placenta was producing enough progesterone to support the pregnancy on its own. Fast forward to week 36 of her pregnancy, Darlene was ready to give birth.
“In August 2024, a God-given miracle and a dream came true. At the age of 47, I gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl (who did not have to go into the NICU). She was delivered by the only doctor who never gave up on me, Dr. Yitzhack Asulin,” Darlene said.
“I realized God places you in certain places at certain times, for certain reasons. Had I walked out of that surgery center after that 1st myomectomy, I would have thought everything was removed and I was infertile. Because I ended up in the ICU, I met the doctor who was the instrument God used to deliver this miracle,” she added.
