Episode 11: Catching up with the World-Record Frozen Embryo Family

The Embryo Adoption Podcast

We’re having some fun in this episode! Almost 8 months after their births, catch up with the NEDC babies frozen as embryos for a world-record of nearly 30 years, Timothy & Lydia Ridgeway, as well as their parents Philip & Rachel. This family’s looking back on the wild and sometimes hilarious adventure of making global news. Would they do it all again?
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FULL TRANSCRIPT (Please note there may be spelling, grammatical, and factual errors as this transcript was generated by AI.)

00:00
Mark Mellinger
Looking back on two world record arrivals. That's what we're doing on this edition of the Embryo Adoption Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Mellinger, and the embryo adoption podcast is brought to you by the National Embryo Donation center. You can find out more about our work by going to embryodonation.org. I'm joined by four guests today, philip and Rachel Ridgeway, as well as Timothy and Lydia. They are the world record holders for the longest frozen embryos to come to birth. I'm sure many of you remember this global news story from last November and December, and they went through the NEDC and we're catching up with them. Doing a little bit of a post mortem here, by the way. This is one family that is busy. They have four older kids besides these two. So I really appreciate you all taking the time. And like I said, if you're not watching the video version, you'll hear them, the kids, the youngest are with us and they are just cute as a button as they are about eight months old as we record this interview.

01:09
Mark Mellinger
So let me start here. How are Timothy and Lydia doing? They look like they're doing great. And how is the rest of your family adjusted?

01:17
Rachel Ridgeway
Well, they are growing amazingly by God's grace. Their pediatrician has been so impressed with them because when they were born, they were good size, but they were like on the fifth percentile for weight and length, and they've gone up to the 50th. And so their pediatrician couldn't be any happier with their growth and development. And the kids, we all love them. We can't imagine life without them at this point. It's been such a blessing and so much fun. And each of the kids takes turn holding them and caring for them and loving them.

01:48
Mark Mellinger
Are you getting sleep? I mean, they should be decent sleepers by this age, right?

01:55
Rachel Ridgeway
You would hope. And the pediatrician says, oh, they can sleep through the night now. They weigh a heavy enough. I'm like, yeah, you got to tell them that Lydia is by far the better sleeper. She's pretty low maintenance. Peter put her to bed. She's pretty happy about that. Timothy's our snuggle bug.

02:13
Mark Mellinger
He's with Daddy right now. And I think they're both a little fascinated with the computer that you're doing this interview through that's. Okay, let's go talk, first of all, about your experience through the NEDC. We'll start there. You were intentional about selecting embryos that had been here a long time. You wanted to do this.

02:36
Rachel Ridgeway
Why?

02:37
Philip Ridgeway
So when were thinking through how would we select a profile, we didn't have any sort of characteristic in mind if we want children with similar hair color or eye color or whatever. So we couldn't think of any criteria we would use to select embryos except for, well, just give us the oldest ones, the webs that have been waiting the longest. And so that's what went with.

03:08
Mark Mellinger
Because you knew that those embryos were harder to place. I don't want to put words in your mouth, so I'm sort of asking that question. I know you guys share our heart for life. I mean, that's why we're here, is to protect the sanctity and dignity of human embryos. And these children that you're holding were frozen for just a month and a half shy of 30 years, which is just amazing. That was your heart behind this, right? You wanted the embryos that you wanted to give the embryos a shot at life that were likely going to be harder to place.

03:41
Philip Ridgeway
Yeah, that was part of it. But also just the fact that each of these embryos is a human being that God has created in his own image, he's given life to, they have value. They're all equally as valuable in our minds. We couldn't think of a way of saying, well, we want some and not others. So rather than selecting some arbitrary criteria, we said we want those that have been waiting there the longest. That have been waiting the longest to be adopted into a family.

04:25
Mark Mellinger
Yeah. Lydia's giving Rachel some problems over there. I understand she's getting hungry. That's totally understandable. Let me ask you this. I mentioned that this was big news several months ago. Are you glad that you went public with your story? Would you do it all over again?

04:43
Rachel Ridgeway
Oh, yeah. The amount of people that even just our church body getting to know about embryo adoption and everything involved with that and then having it go public, just being able to talk to more and more people about embryo adoption and the sanctity of life and why these kids are just as important as any other kids out there that are in need of families and really just to be able to glorify God and to give him the credit for the fact that he's the one that created Timothy and Lydia. He's the one that sustained them for the 30 years in the freezer and then sustained them in my womb and continues to sustain them and to be able to give him the glory for what he has done and just to give these babies a face because it's such a hard, nebulous idea for people to come to grips with that there are millions of children frozen out there that just need a chance at life.

05:36
Rachel Ridgeway
And it's such a strange thought and process that most people have never even heard of. And so to be able to give it that platform so that people can know and understand and want to look into it for themselves, it's a huge blessing for us.

05:50
Philip Ridgeway
It's also been helpful, even just for ourselves. It's challenged us to think through the issue of life and what the Bible says about that and how do we evaluate from a biblical perspective things like IVF and infertility. So that's really helped us to sort of codify what we believe and to speak to people about that issue because it's a common thing. And what we found is that very few people who haven't done embryo adoption or even IDF don't know what it is, what it all involves, what the moral implications of it. So it's been helpful even just for us, but also for the people that God's providentially brought into our lives. We've been able to share our story and teach them about embryo adoption and the life that God has given to these children.

06:46
Mark Mellinger
Well, that's a key point, is that a lot of people will just rush into, if they have the money IVF when they're going through infertility what you're saying. And I know, by the way, even though you have four older children, you all experienced infertility before this. So this is not something with which you are unfamiliar. It's a sensitive topic for you. It's a very real topic for you. And you're saying even though you had gone through it and I know you did not need to go all the way to IVF. You did not go all the way to IVF, even with that background as pretext embryo adoption even made you stop think further, refine your views on what links you will go to achieve children, on the link between fertility and.

07:41
Philip Ridgeway
Faith, and also just how to think through it. There are some people that we encountered that were adamantly opposed to embryo adoption just because it's loosely connected with IVF, thinking that somehow embryo adoption promotes IVF, causes more IVF to happen. That was really something that we wrestled through and thought through and had to formulate arguments in our minds. And it was very helpful in that respect.

08:12
Mark Mellinger
I remember having a conversation about that with you two while you were pregnant with them, and that was interesting. It is a question that you run into every now and then, and it's a good, thoughtful question that we're happy to engage. What was it like seeing your story told by media outlet after media outlet all over the world, sometimes very entertaining. Okay, yeah. And I know some of this. What were some of the moments that you found entertaining?

08:50
Rachel Ridgeway
I think it was my uncle shared an article and it had the wrong photo on it. So saying our family, but it was actually the previous record holder's family photo. They just used some sort of random twin photo of any twins. And so it was our story. But those aren't our kids. Those are pretty funny or just different things that we realized that very quickly, that different news outlets just play telephone now. We have a couple of interviews in person, but then there's all these articles and you can see the little tweaks. So somehow somebody got something wrong.

09:27
Philip Ridgeway
Yeah, they hear that, then EDC is in Tennessee and they just assumed that were in Tennessee. Our location changed from article to article. There was some humor in it, and at first it was surprising, but at the same time, were grateful for the opportunities we talked about that God chose to use us in this way and that he is being glorified in this, that life is being put on display and people are hearing the truth. There was someone from our church that read the CNN article and said, yeah, it ends with the sovereignty of God, that God is the one who ordains life and creates life and preserves life, sustains life. That's been our desire all along, for God to be glorified in this.

10:20
Mark Mellinger
And that's what you did. You did it all throughout. I loved how you did it, and you really did it in an articulate and intentional way. It wasn't just sort of generic Hallmark card, glorifying God and praising God. There was some theological weight behind it. And I love that about your story. Yeah. And it was interesting seeing the various places that you lived, whether it was Tennessee or Washington oregon, they could have just thought, I guess, that you were sort of a family that was living out of an RV or something, because it did change occasionally. What were some of the most memorable responses you received from folks? I'm not talking about members of the media. I'm talking about just people who saw your story either in person or online.

11:16
Rachel Ridgeway
You've had somebody stop you and go, hey, I know you from high school and I saw your article, I think.

11:23
Philip Ridgeway
Yeah, that was at the Burbank Airport.

11:27
Mark Mellinger
Is that right?

11:29
Rachel Ridgeway
Yeah. Oh, I got text messages from friends and different long distance family members that were like, hey, we saw you people go look at my Facebook feed, and all of a sudden, wait, that's a little bit Rachel. They're on there. We didn't really make it public that were going to do this. We just kind of put it out there. So I think it's quite entertaining for a lot of our church family to see our faces plastered over for a few days and be like, I know those people.

11:57
Mark Mellinger
You mentioned the telephone world of the media, how a lot of them will basically lift details that were gathered by somebody else and make it their own. That was one aspect that stood out to you. I think another aspect that stood out is a lot of the media, like local TV stations or online outlets, are owned by the same companies. So basically, if you do something with one station, you can be sending it out to the entire country. That didn't used to be the case. Were there other aspects of working with the media that surprised you from either a positive or negative standpoint?

12:40
Rachel Ridgeway
For the most part, I think it was all pretty positive. We didn't really run into any big hiccups or anything. I have to say, I think the Guinness World Record article was quite impressive. I was actually very shocked by that one, thinking that we filled out this long survey question by question for them, and they just took it and they put it out there word for word. And so even with our references to the Lord and his sustaining and all that, they put it out there. I was like, oh, sweet. That's pretty cool.

13:13
Mark Mellinger
That was so cool. And it was so cool that I have the plaque hanging across from my office here at the NEDC. You guys were nice enough to let us have like, a replica plaque because you have a plaque there.

13:26
Rachel Ridgeway
Yeah, well, they do, I guess.

13:32
Mark Mellinger
Right? It's so cool. And it's funny, people do they stop by and notice it all the time and they're like, oh, that was you guys. So they knew about the story, or if they hadn't heard the story, they're like, that is amazing. Almost 30 years. We'll try to get some placards with your pictures and stuff, too, to add to that. So you'll always have a home in Tennessee. Whether the media says you do or not, you'll always be here in a sense. Hey, I'm always interested. And by the way, let me say this. This was largely the experience with some of our other couples who have done massive nationwide publicity. There have only been a couple, but generally we as Christians can sometimes bang on the media and be down on them. And there are some legitimate criticisms there, but I always like to praise them where I can.

14:26
Mark Mellinger
And I would say I agree with the two of you that by and large, they were very friendly, very courteous. They did share your Christian viewpoint in most cases, which was very important to you, and we let them know that. So they were very respectful and good to work with, and they usually are in the context of the NEC. So we appreciate those in the media who do it well as we do any profession that's a gift from God. So of all the media coverage, which reporter outlet did the best job telling your story? You mentioned that Guinness did a great job. Was there anybody else who stood out as yeah, this is the one. If I had to point somebody to our story.

15:13
Philip Ridgeway
There was the initial article with the Gospel Coalition. We were really satisfied, happy with that. How the author, she did a really good job with that story. Actually, the CNN one were quite impressed with, and were surprised at how well they covered accurately portrayed things that he said. But we also did a local interview with a reporter. Do you remember the station? Reporter's name was Alma, and it was.

15:43
Mark Mellinger
With it's hard to remember. I get it.

15:49
Philip Ridgeway
Yeah, I can't remember the station because we don't watch local news. But reporter came to our house and just asked us questions and she was really relatable and we watched a story and she just did a fantastic job.

16:03
Rachel Ridgeway
Yeah, she really did.

16:05
Philip Ridgeway
We had a great experience.

16:06
Rachel Ridgeway
Yeah, we definitely had some unique ones. I think we did. It was a podcast, right, for Connecticut.

16:12
Mark Mellinger
Oh, I think I remember. I know which one you're talking about.

16:15
Rachel Ridgeway
Go ahead. Yeah. And she asked different questions, so that was definitely an interesting interview. She focused more on the fact that Lydia and Timothy's history includes their dad having their biological dad having a diagnosis of ALS and what does that mean? And so that was definitely just a unique one, but it also provided us with the opportunity of really showing how God is in control of all things and that Lydia and Timothy still need to be given the opportunity at life despite the possibilities. And the reality is that any child has the possibility of having anything at any time. And so the idea that there's somehow a greater risk with these guys is very funny because God's in control of all things and so we have nothing to fear because we know that whatever he sends us our way as believers will be for our good and for his glory.

17:10
Mark Mellinger
Amen. It's such a great point. I mean, if you're human, you're fundamentally broken and in need of restoration and this side of eternity, something bad's going to happen to you that will take you out. That's just how it is. So there's really no difference, right? That's just how it is. Yeah.

17:35
Rachel Ridgeway
In all of human history, there's only been, what, two people that didn't die, right?

17:40
Mark Mellinger
Exactly.

17:42
Rachel Ridgeway
Yeah, exactly. So you've got a pretty high percentage chance of a Lloyd taking you home.

17:50
Mark Mellinger
Are you collecting highlights from that time in a scrapbook or a thumb drive or anything?

17:57
Rachel Ridgeway
I wish.

17:57
Mark Mellinger
But now you're too busy talk about your other kids, how old they are.

18:03
Philip Ridgeway
Well, part of it is being too busy, but also part of it's just like we didn't do this for the flame. That hasn't been a motivating factor for us really at all. We talked about our desire was to point people to Christ and for him to be glorified and so it wasn't about us. But yeah, we do have a few things here and there. Like you mentioned, the plague, Afghanistan. We haven't decided what to do with.

18:37
Rachel Ridgeway
You yet, but well, nowadays the Internet, it's like if they want to find out, it's just a matter of googling their names and we'll be able to find all kinds of fun things about them.

18:48
Mark Mellinger
And the thing is, it'll proliferate over the years, maybe go in directions that you never saw.

19:00
Philip Ridgeway
We also wouldn't have time, even if we wanted to do that sort of thing between, you know, works school, serving at our church. I'm in seminary.

19:09
Mark Mellinger
Are you going to seminary?

19:11
Philip Ridgeway
Yeah, I'm going a student at the Master's seminary in their MDIF program.

19:17
Mark Mellinger
Well, congratulations. Now are you just going to use that to serve more effectively in your home and church or do you plan to sort of switch careers and become a pastor?

19:29
Philip Ridgeway
I'm in training to be an elder at our church. So I don't know where God's going to take that, but I primarily just want to be a more effective servant minister of his word. So it's been neat. I've been doing that for the past year with a couple of other guys from our.

19:51
Mark Mellinger
How cool. Now that is really great. I was going to see if we can get you guys back. It looks like you have frozen on me, so that's okay. We were pretty much at the end of our time anyway. So I guess I will use this as an opportunity to just wrap up the podcast. We want to thank you too so much, philip and Rachel as well as Timothy and Lydia. They behaved just wonderfully. And if you would like more information about the National Embryo Donation Center and our work, you can find us at embryodonation.org. I'm Mark Mellinger. This has been the embryo adoption podcast.