the nest is built, all I have to do is to lay the golden eggs once again

Egg retrieval is set for tomorrow at 7:15am. I will have to be at the clinic by 6:45am, no food no liquid after midnight tonight. T will of course accompany me, G will have to come along to produce his "fresh sample". He joked that he is under intense pressure. Sometimes I do wonder how the men feel in situations like these - that their little "joy" 1) is so easy relative to what the women have to do to produce the eggs 2) will produce (potentially) many children of his own. Hm.

Anyway it was a relaxing day for me and it felt SO good not to have to take the tube to Regent's Park and hang out at Marylebone. As much as I adore the area I truly needed a break from the clinic. I spent the afternoon at the Natural History Museum (what a pilgrimage it is for atheists like me!) and walked to Knightsbridge where I had a lovely massage at Berkley Hotel Spa. Ah, such bliss.

When I got home I started packing right away as my flight back to Hong Kong is at 6pm tomorrow, which means I wouldn't get much rest after the surgery. I felt rather sad that I will be saying goodbye to T and family. I will miss her. She is such a remarkable woman, so warm and generous, that I have grown quite fond of her. I am very glad to have found a friend in her.

This experience has been nothing short of a miracle - how we met and how it all happened. I don't however believe in fate and all that "it's meant to be" faith, but it doesn't stop me from marvelling at this amazing series of events that led to the culmination of donating my eggs to T. I only hope that she will get pregnant eventually - like I said so many times before, I know my eggs will be in very good hands with a mother like her.

Wish me luck! I wonder how many golden eggs there will be this time?

Fifty-five (quite golden) eggs

This morning I arrived at the clinic at 8:30am, half expecting the doctors and nurses to be there, all milling around. But there were only two nurses who asked me to fill up a form (when was your last meal, last drink, drug allergies, etc) and told me to wait. I read the papers, completed my Sudoku, and was told to empty my bowels.

At 9:00am, I was told to change into a blue gown and the anaesthetist started chatting with me - he is a lovely old gentleman from England - and gave me a poke on the back of my hand to inject the "magic juice" (that's what he said!), and then I'm ready. Dr C greeted me with a cheerful good morning and asked how I was. I wish I could tell her that I'm shaking hard in my boots as this is my first surgery ever. My childhood was a relatively tame one (the worst I got was a crushed little finger with the xray showing all the tiny bits of bones) so I never really know what to expect in an operating theatre. Anyway it was a matter of seconds when I fell asleep and when I woke up about three hours later, it was all done.

Dr C said she retrieved 55 eggs! Fifty-five!!! Damn. What am I, the super fertile golden goose? Obviously not all were mature but heck, 55 is still a lot. She gave me some pretty strong painkillers and I slept a bit more. When I next came to, I was asked to wait outside for my turn to see Dr C (she was seeing a patient then). When it was my turn and I started speaking to her, I felt so faint and I could feel all the blood draining from my head. A really strong nausea kicked in, I started losing all sensation in my body and I just felt like I wanted to die. It was horrible.. Dr C immediately grabbed me and made me lie on the bed. She ordered me not to move till I got enough rest. Talk about drama! And this was after the surgery.

The recipient of my eggs, M, had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to the clinic for me. It was such a sweet gesture. As I lay on the bed covered by a Buzzlightyear blanket with the flowers next to me, I never felt more at peace. I know somehow one of those fifty-five eggs will be golden.