Lifestyle Health Mom Welcomes Her First Child at Age 50 After Dealing with Fibroids: 'Miracle Baby' Susie Troxler and her husband Tony, who is 61, were told by multiple doctors before getting pregnant that between their age and health issues, "there was not going to be a baby" By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 19, 2021 01:54PM EST Susie and Tony Troxler with their daughter Lily. Photo: WFMY News 2 A North Carolina wife and husband are celebrating their "miracle baby" after welcoming their first child at ages 50 and 61. Susie and Tony Troxler wed in 2008, "later in life," but had "just assumed we would get pregnant like most people," she told WFMY News. But then "one year turned into two, then three, and we were doing so many things that we honestly didn't notice it at first," said Susie. "But when it got to be nine, 10, 11 years, we were like, something is up, and we're not sure what it is," she continued. 51-Year-Old Mother Serves as Her Daughter's Surrogate After She Is Unable to Get Pregnant The Troxlers started to see fertility specialists to determine what was going on, and found that most doctors wouldn't even attempt to help a 50-year-old woman conceive, particularly with the couple's preexisting health conditions. "I had a boatload of uterine fibroids," Susie said. "I was too old, and Tony had some medical issues, and between the two of us, there was not going to be a baby." "They always said it nicely, but bottom line, when you take away all of the official medical jargon, it was a no! They said, 'it's not happening, so you're going to need a whole lot of help,'" she added. But the couple, who both work in medicine, finally found an OB-GYN, Dr. Carolyn Harraway-Smith, who was willing to help. "And that was the beginning of everything," Susie said. 'Dream Baby' Made Possible After a Sister Gave Her Twin with Cancer the 'Beautiful' Gift of Surrogacy First, she underwent surgery in Jan. 2019 to remove her fiberoids, and then egg retrevials in 2020. They had planned to start the IVF process that year, but were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and once they did begin implanting the fertilized eggs, the first few didn't take. "None of that worked, and we were down to our last embryo," Susie said. That was in February, and amazingly, it worked. RELATED VIDEO: Gabrielle Union Tells Oprah She's 'Blessed' to Be a Mom After Suffering Multiple Miscarriages "They bring me into the ultrasound, and the first thing they said was, 'Oh, she's moving!' And she was a teeny little thing in there! But I was like, 'Yes!' " Susie said. And on Sept. 29, Lily Antonia Troxler arrived, weighing 5 lb. 12 oz. "Before she was even born, she had me wrapped around her pinky," Tony said. "I love her so much. Every time I look at her, sometimes I find myself just staring at her. It's amazing!" "We are thrilled. Sleep-deprived, but totally beyond worth it," Susie said. "She really is the miracle baby."