Our Journey ends here!

Just received the call from the Doc and our results were NEGATIVE. Sorry to disappoint everyone. I know you were all hoping for good news as were we. I suppose I am just not meant to be a mother. My life has been so full of disappointments, over and over again. Hands down this is the biggest of them all.

I imagine God isn't listening these days. Thank you all, again.

A waiting game...

The count down continues. I started my new job yesterday and Gerry started his course in Texas. Our annual State survey showed up on my second day of work, I think its starting to be a trend (my last job it was day one). Well, its definitely a way for us to keep our minds occupied while we wait for the BIG news.

It's just us girls at the Wile household with Frankie, I, and Jackie (my best friend) when she comes to hang out by the pool. It's lonely without Gerry, but we are managing okay. It's definitely going to be a long 3 months, though.

So many things to look forward too. Also, I am dying to see the new movie Baby Mama about surrogacy. (I could use a really good laugh right now)

Let's Hope Bunnies are Good Luck

Well we were just settling back into some normalcy in our lives when Gerry had to leave again. He is off to San Angelo, TX for a training course with the military for the next 3 months. It was sad for us to say good-bye after going through such an emotional and heartwarming experience together, 24/7 for 18 days straight. We both truly believe it has made our marriage stronger after 8 years and we fell more in love every passing day. I just have to keep reminding myself, I made it for 10 months while he was over serving in the war, 3 months should be a cake walk, right???

On a brighter note, our Docs have been checking in with us and Asha is feeling well and getting lots of rest. We went for supper with Melanie and Brijesh and it was a neat feeling being able to talk about Bombay and really know and understand what we were discussing. We weren't the students any longer! I am finding the jet lag on the return trip a lot more severe, and I am really glad I took an extra week off before starting my new job on Monday.

We had a few surprises when we got home. 1. A white dog who REALLY needed a bath! (absolutely NOT her favorite thing to do) 2. The duffel bag that we took with us to India which was out in the garage,till Gerry grabbed it to pack the other day, had a little surprise in it. Low and behold a little baby bunny that had crawled in it for a snuggle. We immediately looked at each other and said ' Let's hope bunnies are good luck!'

We confirmed with the Doc that we should get our news on May 2nd. Until then we are receiving tons of well wishes from everyone and lots of questions and comments from other couples interested in pursuing surrogacy in India. We hope their journey goes only half as wonderful as ours has so far.

Great Medicine in a Foreign Land

Being a nurse, my expectations are probably higher then most when dealing with the medical community, but as with everything, from the beginning of our journey we went into it with an open mind. We were pleasantly surprised and even a little amazed at the professionalism and competence of all the medical teams while in Mumbai. For starters being the good Canadian I am (on a side note I go for my U.S citizenship on May 6th) I have very deep veins and I am a very hard stick, so most always I am stuck for a blood draw numerous times in one sitting. While in Mumbai, I had my blood drawn on 3 separate occasions by 3 different individuals each time they hit my veins immediately. Second, I have had numerous abdominal and transvaginal ultrasounds since the entire process began each time I end up laying on the table for long periods of time while they try to find my 2 of everything, sometimes resulting in incomplete or inaccurate results. With each ultrasound in India, the Docs had no trouble finding everything x2 quickly and accurately. Needless to say we were both very impressed and relieved. After much discussion with the Docs we discovered that in Mumbai with a population of close to 20 million the sheer number of patients the medical community sees in one day greatly out numbers that in North America, so they really get a lot of experience (For example in India there is 1 birth every second). Coincidentally our Doc, Dr. Yashodhara and Dr. Soni once delivered 100 babies in 1 day. We had the grand tour at Hiranandani Hospital from Dr. Soni, OBGYN who will follow our surrogate Asha after confirmation of pregnancy and keep us updated with monthly reports and sonograms. We even got to peek in the window of the NICU where twins born a little early awaited their American parents to arrive. What a welcome and beautiful sight. Keep in mind, the buildings and facilities may not be flashy and brand new, but the care is superior and ultimately in the end isn't that what counts?

Sorry, I am figuring this out as I go...

Just a note to say that I edited/updated and added some posts please check out the changes:

April 3, 2008 (why I hesitated)
April 12, 2008 (photos of Sindhudurg)
Doctor meet Doctor's slide show
STATS (side bar) *note: a work in progress
WHAT A LONG JOURNEY WE HAVE HAD... (side bar) *I think I covered it all*

Thanks for your patience while I figure this BLOG stuff out.

Again, thanks for visiting and please leave a comment we love to know you are interested and/or thinking of us.

Back Home Sweet Home

We made it back home safe and sound. I really don't care to see another plane again, at least for 9 months anyway. What a long trip! Our flight was late leaving Mumbai what an experience that was, I have never been frisked so much in my life! We made it into JFK and it was a complete mess; our bags took forever to arrive and then we had to put them through customs again. We had to run through the airport at mach speed and almost missed our flight but, we made it JUST in time. We arrived in Phoenix on time, but all of our baggage didn't. The remainder of our bags arrived later this evening around 10pm and were delivered to the house. We called our family to let them know that we made it back and also received a call from Dr. Sudhir who was 'just checking in.' We are now patiently waiting and nail biting in our 2 week wait and trying to get back in the swing of things here at home. It was wonderful to see our baby Frankie and do some much needed snuggling. Glad to be home, but missing our new second home, Mumbai.

Our AMAZING trip is coming to an end...for now!

Well, we leave tomorrow night, Sunday April 20th at 1220 am India time and arrive back in Arizona, Sunday April 20th at 1120 am (MST). We are very sad to leave as we have become really attached to our Docs and Henry (Mel's Dad) but we are excited and really looking forward to seeing our 4 legged baby, Frankie. It has definitely been both an emotional and cultural eye opening experience for the both of us. We truly cannot say a negative thing about our entire experience. Today we spent the afternoon visiting Henry's home and had lunch with the whole family and a few friends. Christine (their servant of 25 yrs) prepared an amazing spread of Indian food. I asked her if she wanted to come home with us. Henry and Lorna (Mel's Mom) presented me with a gorgeous gold bracelet as a memento of our visit. I was overwhelmingly touched with their sentiment and will hold this dear gift close to my heart. Melanie is a lucky girl to be surrounded by such a lovely family (as we do). Tonight we see our Docs again for a night out before preparing for our final day in Mumbai tomorrow.

We cannot begin to think of the words to describe how extremely blessed and special we both feel. The love and support we have received by everyone here in India and all of our friends and family back home praying for us and sending continuous emails and comments, is so very touching.

Don't worry we will continue to write after we arrive home until we receive the good news (positive thoughts!) We plan on including some pointers, tips and useful information for others who may want to embark on their own journey of surrogacy in India. We want to help others see that there is a ray of hope for them as well and that SurrogacyIndia and it's amazing doctors will be able to help. Just know that while struggling with infertility you are not alone.

The SEED(S) have been planted!

What a whirlwind of emotions! Today was the embryo transfer. We arrived at Lilavati Hospital and had a bit of a wait. Our surrogate arrived and we had some time to chat. They prepared her in the IVF suite before calling me in. Dr. Yashodhara, Dr. Pai and Dr. Palshetkar were all there for the procedure. Dr. Pai did laser assisted hatching before drawing up the embryos and Dr. Palshetkar did the actual transfer. I stood at Asha's (our surrogate) shoulder and watched on the ultrasound screen. I placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her and when the procedure concluded I leaned over and placed my cheek next to hers and gave her a kiss and whispered 'Shukria' (thank you in Hindi) into her ear. Gerry and I are both overwhelmed with gratitude for this very special woman. She had to lay for a while before her caretaker Dr. Meenakshi took her back to the surrogate home where she will stay for the 15 days until we receive confirmation of pregnancy. She will be joined by 2 other surrogates next week after their transfers. Once a positive pregnancy test is confirmed she will then transfer to her own place with her family. Dr. Meenakshi will check on her frequently over the next couple of weeks and ensure she gets lots of rest while the maid attends to all of her needs. Directly after the procedure both Dr. Pai and Dr. Palshetkar walked out into the hall where Gerry was waiting patiently. He said, 'Boy that was quick!' Both Dr.'s replied very adamantly, 'Well, we are the BEST!' We met with Dr. Pai and he discussed everything with us: 5 embryos were transferred. 2 were grade 1 quality with 8 cell division, 1 was a grade 2 quality with 6 cell division and the remaining 2 were 2-3 grade quality with 6 cell division. Dr. Pai said he normally only transfers 3 embryo's into surrogates but decided on transferring all 5 embryos. He truly believes that the success rate is based on technique and said that all his surrogates last month had a positive pregnancy. Now we wait and pray for success.

Thinking happy and positive thoughts...Dr. Yashodhara's orders!!!!

A day off to enjoy.

We finally took a day to do some shopping and ventured out on our own. We took the auto rickshaw to Linking Road, Bandra, where there are miles of shoes, clothes and purses for the eyes to see. We took a short break for lunch at the local KFC and spent the rest of the time shaking our heads 'No thank you, just looking' and kept walking along the uneven and congested roads. Its a very unique shopping experience with shop keepers constantly coming out and wanting you to come into their huts as well as the child beggars tugging on your clothes and tapping you for any small bit of money. The heat and humidity are almost unbearable and Gerry carries around a hand towel everywhere we go, so the funniest site to see was the locals trying to sell us these tiny little handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat off. Its like sensory overload, but we managed to last 3 hours before heading back for a dip in the indoor hotel pool.

We are dying to find out what is happening on our favorite TV shows, Lost, Survivor and Big Brother as we pretty much just get Hindi channels in the evening. We dearly miss our girl Frankie but we were able to hear her howl to us on the speaker phone this weekend while my best friend Jackie was over at our house for a visit.

Thursday's embryo transfer can't come quick enough for us.

What a wonderful day for an Anniversary!

Today was the BIG day, not only did we do our egg retrieval at Lilavati Hospital, but we also are celebrating our 8th Wedding Anniversary. (I am sure one we will never forget) I felt like a hen ready to lay her eggs. Everything went great, we ended up with 10 follicles, and they were able to fertilize 8 of those. Dr.Yashodhara was by my side the entire time and said the eggs were very good quality and the fertilization went well. Now we wait... The entire IVF team and hospital staff were amazing. The 2 docs that own the IVF Center will both be there to transfer the embryos on Thursday and give the little guys (or girls) an extra day to do their thing. I will be able to go in and be with our surrogate during the transfer. How amazing that will be! Gerry is able to go in as well, but has decided not too as he wants to give us girls some time to bond. After the procedure it was back to the hotel for some much needed rest. Our Anniversary meal was a pizza from Pizza Hut (which we thought was better then we get back home). That evening we had a surprise visit from Dr.Sudhir who brought us a small cake complete with a candle to celebrate. I gave the guys some bonding time in the bar while I rested some more.

All in all it was a fabulous day!

City Life in Mumbai, India

Our 2 day Coastal Adventure to Sindhudurg

We made it back from our Coastal adventure.

Well we are back safe and sound and VERY tired. We had an absolutely wonderful time in Sindhudurg with our Indian host family. What an experience! Will write more details and download all the photos in the next day or so. Just resting up for Monday's retrieval. I am FULL of follicles. Found out today 12 in total. GREAT news for us! Wednesday is the transfer and I will be able to go in with our surrogate during the procedure.

Thanks to you all for your wonderful support and comments. We truly do feel the love and prayers that you send our way.

Off to Sindhudurg

We leave tonight on an overnight air conditioned (believe it or not that is a BIG deal) coach sleeper train for a trip down south to Sindhudurg; a coastal village area to experience Indian culture at its best. Check out the site: http://www.cultureaangan.com/. This was arranged by our wonderful docs. We are so excited about it! We meet again today for another ultrasound to see how my follicles are doing. Then we go to the hospital to meet with the Anesthesiologist for a pre-op. After we will spend the evening with our docs, going for supper and doing some sightseeing before being dropped off at the train station. We return to Mumbai Saturday morning to prepare for our egg retrieval on Monday. WOO HOO!

So much to tell...

Just a quick note to let you all know we are having a wonderful time!!! The treatment and hospitality we have received is unbelievable. We have been so busy with spending time with the docs, to sightseeing with them, to going to clinics and the hospital, meeting our surrogate and spending time with Henry (Mel's Dad). I just haven't had time to update. We really haven't stopped till now and I just spent a hour or so writing out every detail from the start of our flight till today in a word document. I will go back and post it all, although it may be boring for some of you, sorry. This is our memoir as well, so we didn't want to miss one single detail. I will put together some slide shows to share as we have taken SO many photos. We are so very pleased with our stay and can't even begin to express the way we feel for Mumbai and all the wonderful people who have taken such good care of us. We truly are blessed!

WE MADE IT....

1203 a.m Indian Time.

Well just a quick note to let everyone know we made it here safe and sound. Wonderful flight. Hotel is perfect. The docs had flowers delivered to our room first thing. What a wonderful sentiment. Mumbai is amazing! I am like a kid seeing something new for the first time. I just can't take it all in fast enough. It will be nice to see everything in the daylight tomorrow. Meeting with Dr. Sudhir and Dr. Yashodhara for lunch tomorrow. We can't wait to finally meet them in person. Going to bed, we are exhausted. 22 hours of flying will do that I suppose.

I am biting the bullet with some hesitation...

Some of you may be wondering why I was holding back in giving all the details. Well, as anyone who has suffered from the heartache and disappointment of infertility knows you don't want to expose yourself too much. We have have suffered such disappointment over the last few years that part of me really didn't want to put myself out there for fear that I would have to share another failure in our long journey to have a family.

But, with love and support from my amazing husband, family and friends I have decided that it is all or nothing and I MUST remain positive to truly have a positive outcome. So, although I fear the exposure I am going to bite the bullet and give it all to you. Good or Bad, here it is.

Say lots of prayers and stay positive with us and I know in my heart we will have our little angel(s) soon enough.

Enjoy!

Our BLOG is currently under construction...

We leave for India on April 4th, 2008. We will have so much to tell and add.

Please be patient.

Thanks for visiting,

Rhonda and Gerry

Doctor meet Doctor's... (updated)

More Indian food Arizona style.

Getting a crash course in Indian food from our friends from Mumbai, Melanie and Brijesh.

Trying to figure out how we can get Frankie to India

We will miss you :(

This is US!

Gerry and Rhonda

Gerry and our girl Frankie

That's me!