JULY 2nd, 2007

MONDAY July 2nd, 2007

Meeting the Surrogate

People in the US who had been to India advised that the poverty and dirtiness would be horrible…but the experience would be great. We also expected to be mobbed by beggars and I expected to have a problem with the smaller personal spaces in this culture. But, we are happily not dealing with any of this! We are staying in a nicer part of the wealthiest city in India and it is shockingly easy;

The medical proceedings have been the difficult part. Today we went in for our visit, and also met our surrogate. Dr Parikh confirmed that there are still only two maturing follicles, and that the maximum number of eggs she expects is two. This compared to over 20 in younger women. Considering there are many steps left, each with its own probability, this leaves only a very small hope of success.

The meeting with our surrogate, Zuleka, was brief, but special. She doesn’t speak English, so Dr. Parikh translated the few questions that we had. She is 25 with two children of 9 and 6. Her husband is an electrician and supports her being a surrogate so long as she is comfortable with it. The country people in India have a very charming way of bobbing there head from side to side when things are ok, and she’s an expert at it. It’s the original bobblehead , and when done right, which she does, it’s as if the head is being controlled by a string. She seems like the shy country girl that Dr Parikh told us she is, and very charming.