A loving legacy: One woman’s quest to honor her late husband by carrying his baby

After years of trying to get pregnant and suffering multiple miscarriages, Laura Orrico, 49, finally has some good news: She’s five months pregnant via in-vitro fertilization.

What’s even more astounding is that Orrico, the founder of her own public relations firm and a film and TV actress, who has appeared on “CSI Miami” and “Kevin Can Wait,” was able to use her late husband’s sperm, which had been frozen for nearly 20 years.

It’s one of the biggest miracles of her life.

Laura Orrico with her latest sonograms, which reveal that’s she’s going to be welcoming a baby girl. New York Post

“I think he would be over the moon,” said Orrico, who cared for her late husband Ryan Cosgrove while he battled brain cancer for eight years before his death at the age of 38. “He was such a gentle, kind and positive soul even during his health struggle,” she said of her late husband. “I know he would be so excited about this.”

In the decade since Ryan died, Orrico never gave up on the hope that she would someday become a mom, even if she had to do it alone.

“My life has been such a roller-coaster, between the ups and downs of heartbreak and happy times, but I’ve always held onto the dream of motherhood,” she said.

Orrico lives in Chicago where she cares for her mother who has multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.

“My mother is so excited about her first grandchild and it’ll be nice because she’s here living with us,” she said. Plus, “my daughter will be blessed knowing she has a great support system of our friends and family.”

Being a single mom is not something Orrico expected out of life.

“I kept thinking I’d remarry and start the next chapter of life and even though I had a few long-term relationships — and always mentioned up front that I wanted children — that never happened,” she said. “It was never something I thought I would do alone, but at this point I didn’t have a choice and I really wanted to start a family.”

Orrico is choosing to share her story in the hopes of inspiring other couples struggling with infertility.

She chronicles her life in “Life & Love After Loss With Laura Orrico,” videos that are currently available on her socials, including YouTube. She’s soon to release the ninth episode of the show.

Orrico’s miscarriages — five before she took a break from IVF in 2014 — is another theme she discusses openly. “The last one happened around Ryan’s funeral,” she noted.

Laura with her precious memories of dad-to-be Ryan. New York Post

Dr. Barry Witt, a reproductive endocrinologist in Greenwich, Conn., said the likelihood of being able to get pregnant in your late 40s has everything to do with egg quality.

“As women get older, the number of eggs a woman has declines,” Witt told The Post. “In the late 40s, the quality of eggs decline, too. That’s why most women are unsuccessful getting pregnant at this age.”

She also focuses on the importance of preserving sperm and eggs and freezing them while it’s still possible, especially if a couple is facing a health crisis.

“In 2007, when Ryan was diagnosed, his doctors urged him to hurry up and consider freezing his sperm before he started chemo,” Orrico said, adding that 10 to 15 vials were frozen and used throughout the many IVF procedures when Ryan’s cancer was in remission.

Additionally, they met with an attorney.

“Ryan and I signed a legal document specifying what to do with the frozen sperm, including whether to dispose of it or donate it if I opted not to use it in the future,” she said. “Ryan gave me his blessing and that means everything to me.”

Orrico is optimistic that the final months of her pregnancy will continue to go as planned. She had a stress test and a full battery of other tests, including extensive bloodwork, before being given the clearance to proceed with IVF.

And, since her positive pregnancy test in June, Orrico, who is considered high-risk due to her age, routinely meets with a team of maternal-fetal medicine doctors. “I’m a nervous wreck because of my history, but everyone has been so positive,” she said. “They’re all so hopeful that everything will keep going well.”

And, no matter what, she can’t wait to share her story with her daughter — and tell her everything about her biological dad — when she’s old enough to understand.

“The baby will know she has a father in heaven who would have loved her very much,” she said.