Like many couples, when Hope and Dan DeLuca had trouble conceiving, they found true healing at the Pope Paul VI Institute, but their need for healing did not end there.
“We married in 2004 and just could not conceive,” says Hope. “Our doctor at the time wanted to prescribe birth control, which I never really understood because we were trying to have children.”
It was then that they turned to the Pope Paul VI Institute and Dr. Thomas Hilgers who diagnosed the root cause of the infertility, an extreme case of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Following an ovarian wedge resection surgery, three years later, the DeLucas were expecting their first child in 2010.
“We chose to go with another doctor at the time to handle the pregnancy — not because we were not happy with the Pope Paul VI Institute, but because of our insurance coverage,” Hope said. “We thought that once we became pregnant, the challenges were over.”
However, an undiagnosed uterine infection posed a real threat of miscarriage and ultimately caused their son to be born premature at 25 weeks. He spent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit, underwent four surgeries, was ventilated for over two months, and suffered brain hemorrhages and a perforated bowel.
After the complications with their first pregnancy, the DeLucas again sought the services of the Pope Paul VI Institute to help conceive their second child. This time, however, they also turned to the Institute to handle the pregnancy: a pregnancy that bore some resemblance to the first when Hope again presented with symptoms of a uterine infection.
“I had symptoms at 10 weeks and again at 26 weeks, but Dr. Hilgers and Dr. [Kristina] Pakiz knew exactly what to do,” Hope recalls. “Two rounds of IV antibiotics relieved the symptoms, and we went the full term.”
Their third pregnancy also presented similar symptoms, but again Pope Paul VI Institute was able to address the infection.
“I get teary-eyed just thinking of the Pope Paul VI Institute,” says Hope. “When we finally got pregnant, we thought we were in the clear, but we never really were. We should have stuck with the Pope Paul VI Institute because they know what they are doing.”