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Darke
County Senior Scribes
Hi Dad
By Delbert Blickenstaff, M.D.
Wow! Here I am on my way to perform the most important task of my life.
I’ve been in cold storage for several months and I’m glad to be thawed
out and on my way. You see I’m part of specimen #1 produced by donor
#00700 in an IVF program. There are millions of other sperms also on
their way to find that special ovum, and I’m going to win the race.
Let me tell you about my producer, #00700. His name is Bill and he grew
up in Pennsylvania, the son of a coal miner. He did well in school but
vowed he would not follow his father and grandfather into the mines. He
worked his way through Penn State, earning a teaching degree in History
and Social Science. One source of income was selling his sperm to the
invivo fertilization (IVF) program in the Medical School. And that’s
how I got started.
So here I am racing against time and millions of other sperms. I’m in
the fallopian tube and I see the ovum straight ahead. Some sperm are
trying to attach themselves to the surface of the ovum, but I’m going
to hit that ovum as hard as I can and try to break through. Bam! I
think I made it. It’s all dark in here, but warm and cozy. My DNA tells
me that I have to marry this big female and we’ll start a new human
being.
Now I need to tell you about my mother in law, that is the owner of the
ovum that I just fertilized. She is 39 years old and is a white woman
who has been unable to carry a pregnancy beyond 8 weeks. She worked as
a librarian and didn’t marry until she was 30 years old. Her husband is
six years older and is considered to be in good health. However after a
series of miscarriages the couple sought the help of our IVF team, and
that’s how I learned to know them.
I listened to the discussions between the doctors and the couple and
learned that the husband’s sperm count was low. The couple was advised
to try IVF and they agreed. So now I’m part of their family and I hope
that this pregnancy lasts, not only for their sakes but also for mine.
Caramba! Yo tengo ganas a comer. I’m part of 00700 specimen #2 and I’m
hungry. Here’s what I learned about my assignment. The intended
recipient of my services is a 25 year old Latino dancer. She is part of
a big family that is very close. It appears that she does not have a
husband but that doesn’t make any difference to me. I’ve been warmed up
and am in hot pursuit of that muchacha. I didn’t find the ovum in the
fallopian tube so I’m looking for it in the pelvic cavity. Caramba!
There it is just being released from the ovary. I’m going to hit it
going full blast because I heard through the grape vine that’s the best
way to get inside.
The grape vine was right and here I am inside this mama. We’re in
business. Soon we’ll start dividing into a many celled human being. I
don’t know if it will be a muchacho or a muchacha, but I don’t care
because I’ve done my job.
Mon Dieu! What a change of scenery. First I’m put in the deep freeze
along with countless other buddies as part of 00700 specimen #3 and now
I’m being injected into the uterine cavity of a complete stranger. Oh
well, I’ve got a job to do and I’d better get on with it. N’est-ce pas?
Where do you suppose that egg is? It is supposed to be entering the
uterus through one of the tubes. But which one? Well I can’t wait all
day so here goes. I’ll try the left tube because I’m a lefty myself.
And there she is! What a lovely sight. I’m going to use all my power
and get inside. There, I did it and now to finish my job. First me and
the Mrs. must get our genes lined up and start dividing. OK, there’s
our first cell division, but something different happened. Instead of
uniting to form a two celled organism, the two cells stayed separate.
And now they are dividing on their own so that there are two identical
twins. Is this mother going to be surprised!
Here’s what I learned about this mother. She is a 28 year old widow and
mother of a three year old boy. Her husband was killed in a plane crash
last year. She doesn’t want to get married and neither does she want
her son to grow up an only child. Actually she did decide to marry a
few years later so that her family would not be fatherless. Why the
French? She lived in Quebec for several years before returning to the
states to complete her education. She has been hoping for a baby girl
to round out her family. She’s in for a big surprise.
Back to Bill. He did become a high school teacher, married and started
his own family. His wife gave him two sons and a daughter, and he
couldn’t be happier. But Bill always wondered what happened to his
donations to the sperm bank. So one day he got in touch with the IVF
program and expressed an interest in learning about what happened to
his sperm. Did he have other children that he didn’t know about. The
IVF people knew but refused to give Bill any information without the
consent of those involved. Bill urged them to inquire if any of his
progeny were interested in meeting their biological father.
Surprisingly all four of them did. Anna Maria was especially interested
because she grew up without a father.
Paul, the result of 00700 specimen #1 became a teacher like his father.
Anna Maria (specimen #2) also became a teacher. She teaches Spanish and
English as a second language. Jacques and Emile (specimen #3) are only
18 years old and haven’t decided what their life work will be. All four
were happy to meet each other and when Anna Marie first saw Bill she
cried out “Hi Dad.”
Delbert Blickenstaff, M.D.
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