LAKELAND — At 18, Dana Lee Luke found out she could not have children. She was diagnosed with mullerian agenesis, a rare condition where the mullerian ducts fail to develop and a uterus will not be present.

“I could barely see through my tears as I drove home alone that day,” she said.

“Aw, don’t worry about that,” her friend, Jane Phillips, told her when she found out the news. “I’ll have one for you.”

And 10 years later, she did ... two, in fact.

Fraternal twins Danica Grace and Kenlee Luke were delivered Jan. 25 in Macon by perineonatologist Dr. Mark Boddy.

Danica Grace weighed 5 1/2 pounds and was 18 inches long while Kenlee tipped the scales at 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 inches long.

“I did not know I could love someone (x2) so much (who) just came into my life,” Dana said by e-mail. “If it were not for Jane, my husband and I would have never got to experience this type of love and bond that makes our family complete.”

After Jane had the twins on a Friday night by C-section (after a complication arose), she returned to work on Tuesday for a few hours and was back on Wednesday.

“She is such a ‘trooper,’” Dana said. “She is doing great. ... She is sooooo amazing!”

Dana, 28, is a surgical tech and Jane, 36, is the office manager for Dr. Bruce Herrington in Lakeland. Dana had dated the brother of Jane’s husband, Patches Phillips, for a long time before they went their separate ways, but the young women remained friends. Dana married Jamie Luke in 2003.

“My wonderful husband and I dated for three years and have been married for more than four years,” Dana said. “After having these years to devote strictly to each other and our marriage, we began to really discuss our options for having a baby. Our options were slim: adoption or surrogacy, both which are very expensive. My husband has been very understanding and supportive since I first told him of my condition. He felt as I did, that if it was meant for us to have a child, God would provide a way.”

And He did through Jane Phillips, her friend of 14 years who has two children, Isabella, 7, and Garrett, 3.

“In 2004, I had my last child and told Dana if we were going to do it (the surrogacy), we needed to start working on it,” Jane said.

Jane read an article in People magazine about scholarships provided by INCIID (International Council on Infertility Information Dissemination) The Heart Program which covers some medicines and the invitro for childless couples.

“We had to fill out an 18-page application and tell why we were deserving of the scholarship,” Dana said.