Annie and Joby Johnson had been trying for a baby for a long time, but luck wasn't on their side.
They were hoping that things would change for the better, but the news they received from the doctor was every couple's worst nightmare.
Bad News
Annie's sister Chrissy was devastated when she heard that her sister was infertile. She decided she would do whatever it takes to make Annie's dream come true.
"In 2008 we tried, in 2009 also; in 2010 was the in-vitro, and on paper, everything looked great, but we got the phone call with the bad news that I was not pregnant after that round, and that was the hardest call ever to receive," Annie recalls.
Helping Her Sister
When Annie's final treatment failed, she decided to put her dreams of having children on hold.
But Chrissy knew that she could help her sister. “If there was just anything I could do to help, you know, I would do it,” she told Annie.
Motherhood
Annie knew her sister would do anything to help her, but she was still confused about what Chrissy was suggesting.
Although Annie was infertile, her sister wasn't. Chrissy had two children of her own, and motherhood came naturally to her.
One More Try
Chrissy convinced her sister to give the treatment one more try. The doctor implanted two embryos, but Annie was convinced it wouldn't work.
Miraculously, the treatment had worked! Annie was pregnant, and so was her sister, Chrissy! But that wasn't all...
Pregnant
The two sisters were on cloud nine when they found out they were both pregnant. They went for their first ultrasound together.
"They found one in me, and then they moved over and saw another little sac with another flickering heartbeat, and we knew that we still had Chrissy left to go," Annie recalls.
Pregnant Together
Having been pregnant two times before, Chrissy let her sister take the spotlight. After all, Annie had been trying to conceive for five years!
The two sisters had gotten pregnant at the same time and were both expecting twins. But it wasn't a coincidence...
In Labor
When Chrissy went into labor, she was excited to finally meet her twins. She burst into tears when she saw her babies for the first time.
As Annie hugged her sister and helped her with the twins, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
Second Labor
“This can’t be happening,” Annie thought to herself as she rushed to find a doctor.
The doctor examined her and confirmed that she was in labor too! Annie gave birth to two beautiful girls on the same day as her sister, just a few hours apart. But when the babies' father arrived at the hospital, he demanded answers.
Surrogate Mother
After Annie's fertility treatment had failed, Chrissy offered to be her surrogate if she would give the treatment one more try.
Annie didn't agree at first, but after discussing it with her husband, she decided to try it.
The Day Of
Chrissy wanted to be a surrogate for her sister. So the doctor implanted two of her sister's embryos inside her, and Annie went along.
Since Annie was also at the right point in her cycle, the doctor implanted two of her embryos inside her, too.
Happiness
The sisters didn't know if the treatment would work on Annie this time, so they decided to keep it a secret.
When Annie and Chrissy found out they were both pregnant with Annie's babies, they were overwhelmed with happiness. "We still can't believe it sometimes," Chrissy recalls.
Thankful
“We’re very thankful for what she did for us. We’re very grateful and thankful that they’re all here.”
“Trying to get at least one baby, we are just so excited to take all four of them home, and they’re all healthy,” Annie told Daily Mail UK.
Four Babies
Annie had been trying to conceive for so long, and now she has four babies, thanks to her brave sister, who convinced her to give the treatment one more try.
But how did Chrissy convince Annie to try the treatment one more time?
Explanation
“I didn’t know if I could even be a surrogate or care for the baby, but I did some research and found out I would be able to do so and put it out there just as a consideration for the future,” said Chrissy.
"If it ended up that Annie was not able to carry a baby, then that is what was preventing them from having a child, then I would do that for them." Joby was thrilled when he found out he was going to be a father. "We said: 'We haven't been able to get pregnant for five years, so if the outcome of this is two twin pregnancies giving us quadruplets, bring it on.' If the worst problem he could give us were now there would be four babies, we were ready."