It’s not every day we can listen to a detailed account of a man rushing to create and deliver a sperm sample. In the case of Matt ‘Shieldsy’ though, nothing is off the record, even the parts that were “crusted all over my face.”

At the age of 33 and after fathering 3 children, Matt swore no matter what happened in his life, he would never have any more children. In his words however “you never know what life will throw up at you,” and after a divorce he moved to a country town, where his dog was hit by a car and needed an emergency vet.

There he found Dr Julia, where it was “love at first mangled dog leg.” Soon enough Julia wished to have children and opted to receive IVF treatment despite Matt being open for a reversal. They found the treatments to be “an emotional and physical rollercoaster” for Julia, constantly injecting herself for the treatment, and Matt undergoing a TESA surgery to extract his sperm. After 2 failed rounds, they received a letter detailing they were out of eggs, blastocysts, and sperm in storage.

Losing confidence with IVF, they switched tactics to a reversal and discovered Metrocentre. Dr Lekich managed to perform a successful reversal for Matt aged 50 (17 years post vasectomy) and after a disastrously funny delivery of his sperm sample, Julia fell pregnant 2 and a half months later with Ruby. Matt calls his new daughter “an amazingly bright spark” who at just 2 years of age will say things like “I like you, Daddy. You make me so happy.”

Unfortunately, when trying for a second pregnancy there were no results initially as Matt’s sample was no longer showing sperm. However, Dr Lekich was happy to accommodate Matt for a revision surgery with no out-of-pocket costs for the doctor’s fee. After the revision surgery Matt was “firing on all cylinders again” and the couple continue trying for another pregnancy.

After 3 previous children, Matt can reflect on how fast time will go and how much more knowledge he has as an older father. Aside from being in a better place financially and personally, he doesn’t devote energy toward superficial things and can slow down to appreciate every moment of raising Ruby. Matt believes Ruby is an “absolute blessing” and is so grateful that she came to exist from meeting Dr Lekich and his dog having the misfortune of being run over by a car.

As for the dog, “The three-legged wonder dog, Hunny, is still with us too and is so good with Ruby.”