SAN ANTONIO – A local family is counting their blessings. After years of infertility, they received the surprise of their lives and are now bringing hope to others.

Jeanette Garza and her husband, Santiago, always dreamed of having a child of their own. But after years of infertility, becoming parents wasn’t easy.

“It really emotionally took a toll on us because many people say, ‘OK, don’t have kids, your life’s just great.’ But we were missing that noise in our house,” Jeanette said.

Then, they got the chance to foster two young boys.

“After a year and a half, we officially adopted them this past May, and it’s been great,” Jeanette said.

Just a few weeks later, Jeanette went to the hospital thinking she had a hernia. Instead, she learned she was 36 weeks pregnant.

Four days later, Jeanette delivered her son, Diego.

“I was in shock. I’m still kind of in shock,” Jeanette said, laughing. “It’s, I mean, it was just overwhelming, and it just happened really quick.”

Dr. Christina Gutierrez said it’s rare, but it does happen.

“I’ve actually cared several times for ladies that present in labor and think that they have appendicitis or another problem and are often very surprised to find they are actually delivering,” Gutierrez said.

In just one summer, Jeanette and her husband went from a family of two to a family of five.

Now, they’re raising three boys, all age 3 and younger — a journey Jeanette calls nothing short of a miracle.

“I honestly see it as a miracle. It was God’s timing that way. It wasn’t our timing,” Jeanette said.

Gutierrez said Jeanette’s story resonates with her personally because she also struggled with infertility.

“I feel an enormous amount of sympathy for Jeanette because I also struggled with infertility. And I was 42 when I had my son, after many years of trying. So I would definitely encourage people to not give up,” Gutierrez said.

Now, Jeanette hopes sharing her story will give other families facing infertility a reason to keep believing.

“Don’t lose faith. Anything can happen. Really, faith — walk by faith. It changed our lives. Our two other boys saved us, and Diego just completed our family,” Jeanette said.