Her heart protests
When Condie was young, doctors told her parents she might not live to see her 20s.

"I had congenital heart defects," she said. "I had some holes in my heart. When I was 10 and 12, I had open-heart surgery."

At age 12, Condie was one of the first in the nation to have surgery with the heart-lung bypass machine, she said. But her heart problems would continue to stifle her ambitions for a family.

"I always wondered if I would live to be a mother and have kids," she said.

At age 22, Condie gave birth to her daughter Heather. After the birth, Condie began to experience heart arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms.

Since she was 35, Condie has had seven pacemakers replaced to keep her heart beating at a normal rhythm.

But as someone who grew up with nine other siblings, Condie said she couldn't help but want more children for her daughter to grow with.

"I was really sad," she said. "I wanted to have a lot more."

Because of her unsteady heart, doctors told Condie it could mean her life if she had more children, she said.

"We tried to adopt but (doctors) said no," she said. "They told me, ‘You're doing fine now, we don't want to rock the boat.'"

Parenting more children
A social worker opened a door for Myrna and her husband, Gary Condie, to parent more children.

She could foster children who were older than her own and could walk and take care of themselves.

Myrna and her husband fostered more than 15 children. Some stayed a few months and others stayed up to nine years, she said.

"She was always very nice to them and treated them as family," said daughter Heather Lake. "Still, several of them call her mom and some of their kids call her grandma."

To this day, Adriana Teuller introduces the Condies as her parents. Teuller's children refer to the Condies as grandparents.

"When I was 19, I was lost and needed help," Tueller, now 50 and living in Utah, wrote in a letter about her foster mother. "Within a few weeks of meeting Myrna, I was lovingly welcomed into her home and family and accepted as a daughter."

Teuller described her foster mother as sweet, patient, giving and compassionate. But above all, Condie taught Teuller about life.

"She seemed to understand humanity," she said. "That love of humanity and love of other human beings has perpetuated at least two generations."

Her motherly philosophy
Thanks to Condie's seventh pacemaker, she has the ability to spend time with her three grandsons.

"When you're running on batteries, you never run out of energy," she said shortly after being recognized by the county Board of Supervisors.
But it is her motherly philosophy that allows Condie's family tree to flourish beyond biological ties.

"I just try to be myself and show unconditional love," she said.

"They all come with different needs and backgrounds, so you have to be able to give and take a little. But the main thing is to show them you love them and care about them."