I sat, a bit anxiously, in the waiting room, flipping through a dated
copy of Newsweek.
My wife Gwen and I had been trying to conceive for several months, and
it was my turn to undergo tests to rule out any possibilities and
determine the best course of treatment. The tests were simple, as I
understood it. I was going to have some blood withdrawn, and I was
going to give a sperm sample. Gwen had had to endure worse.
“Mr. Black?”
I looked up. A woman was standing in the doorway that led to the exam
rooms. I nodded affirmatively.
“Mr. Black, please come with me.”
She held the door for me as I stepped inside. “Mr. Black, how are you
today? Welcome to the Reproductive Science Institute. My name is Dana,
and I’m your Coordinator for this visit.” She offered her hand and I
took it gently.
“Pleased to meet you,” I replied.
“If you’ll just follow me this way, we’ll get started.” I watched her
walk away. She was a petite woman, in perhaps her mid-twenties. She
was wearing loose fitting maroon scrubs and the sensible white shoes
that nurses tend to wear, but I could tell that she had a good figure.
“This is your first visit to a clinic like ours, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes,” I responded.
“Well, you don’t have anything to worry about. Our methods are very
good, and we are highly successful at helping couples like you and
wife. However, our techniques are somewhat different that what you may
have seen on television or in the movies,” she explained as she led me
down the corridor. Doors on either side were marked in a seemingly
random fashion with alphanumerals – E1, U2, B1, U3, M5 – but I didn’t
ask about them. I knew what she was talking about though. I had
imagined being led to small room with a cup in one hand and a couple
of porn magazines in the other; I suppose that wasn’t what they did
here.
“Really?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” She turned to look at me, and smiled. “The procedure will
be explained to you shortly. But first, let’s get your height and
weight.” We were standing in front of a scale. I slipped off my shoes,
stepped up, and she quickly adjusted the machine and wrote the
measurements onto her clipboard with a ballpoint pen. “Great,” she
said. “And you’re 30, right?” I nodded.
“OK, first we’ll draw some blood. Grab your shoes and let’s step in
here.” She indicated a door marked B3. Inside was a normal chair next
to a small table. I followed her instructions as I sat down and rolled
up my right sleeve. She tapped the inside of my elbow with her
fingers, rubbed on some disinfectant, and readied the needle with her
other hand. “Just a pinch,” she warned, and pushed the needle in. We
filled a few vials, to which she applied peel-off labels.
“That was fast,” I commented.
“Practice, practice, practice,” she told me, smiling. She placed a
bandage over the gauze on my arm. “Let’s keep moving. E2 is supposed
to be open now. I told Padma to meet us there.” I got up, grabbed my
shoes again, and followed her out the door, her short blonde hair
bobbing up and down as she walked quickly down the hall.
“I’m training Padma as an Extraction Technician this week,” she
explained, looking back at me as we walked. “She just joined us. Of
course, she is a fully qualified nurse, but hasn’t worked in this area
before, so I’m showing her the ropes. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Extraction?” I asked. That word definitely got my attention.
She noticed my concern. “It’s probably not what you think, and it’s
nothing to worry about. There aren’t any more needles involved, I
guarantee it!” she laughed.
“Okay,” I said.
“Here, please.” She gestured toward the room I was to enter. The door
was already open.
I stepped inside to see a rather tall, pretty, young Indian woman
waiting inside. She was slender with smooth, brown skin and dark brown
eyes. She was organizing some specimen bottles and tubes on the
counter, and, like Dana, she was wearing loose maroon scrubs. She
smiled, and I smiled back.
“Mr. Black, this is Padma,” Dana introduced us. Padma offered her hand
and I, of course, took it. She had medium length, glossy black hair,
pulled neatly away from her face and shoulders with clips.
“Pleased to meet you,” I said.
“The same,” she replied. “I trust you are doing well today?” she
asked. She had a charming Indian accent. I nodded, and the two women
exchanged smiles. “I suppose that Dana explained that I’ll be your
Extraction Technician today.”
“And I’ll be Assisting,” chimed in Dana.
“Yes,” continued Padma. “Dana is Assisting. As she probably told you,
I have been in training this week. I’m quite excited, as this will be
my first solo Extraction. Of course, Dana will be guiding me, so there
is nothing to worry about.” She looked at Dana. “Shall I explain the
procedure?”
“Sure,” Dana replied. I nodded, too, very anxious to hear what was
planned for me. “But why doesn’t Mr. Black get changed while you
explain?”
“Of course,” answered Padma. Dana opened a drawer and pulled out a
paper gown, which she handed to me. Padma continued, “You may change
behind the screen. Please remove all your clothes, underwear, and
socks. And your watch, too, if you don’t mind. Then put on the gown,
opening in front, please.”
I looked around the room. In the corner was the screen she referred
to, and in the middle of the room was what I took to be a normal
massage table. There was a large bar chart on the wall behind Padma,
but I couldn’t read it with her in the way.
“Um, okay,” I replied, stepping over behind the screen. There was a
hanger for my shirt and pants, and a stool allowed me to sit while I
removed my socks. I pulled the gown around me. There were ties near
the throat and at the middle of my chest, but the bottom was open,
which was not unexpected. Once the gown was on, I slipped off my
boxers, folded them neatly, and placed them on the stool. It suddenly
seemed much cooler in the room. While I was undressing, Padma
explained the procedure.
“We do not use the typical method of taking a semen sample here, Mr.
Black. Our methods are much more effective, and give us more
information in diagnosing the fertility problems of you and your wife.
As well, they provide our physicians with a generous amount of data to
use in their studies of human reproduction. But, you needn’t worry,”
she said. “The procedure we will use today is not invasive or
uncomfortable in the slightest.”
I stepped out from behind the screen, holding the front of the gown
closed for modesty.
“Mr. Black, if you will examine the chart on the wall,” she said as
she turned and pointed. Padma seemed to be reciting from memory. “Here
at RSI, our studies have shown that the quality and quantity of human
male ejaculate changes situationally, confirming animal models of the
same phenomenon. If you’ll look at the chart, you can see that,
normally, sperm motility and ejaculate volume are lowest for auto-
stimulation releases, and both are greatest for sexual intercourse
with a novel partner.
“Looking closer, you will see that, using the techniques we have
developed here, the values for sexual intercourse with a long term
partner are very nearly matched by the values for manual stimulation
by a novel partner, while an even closer match is made by the values
for oral stimulation by a novel partner. This interesting finding
allows us to replicate, in the medical environment, a condition for
ejaculation that most closely matches the conditions present during
sexual congress with intent to impregnate.”
I understood clearly what she was going to explain next, and was
somewhat shocked.
“Do not be alarmed, however, Mr. Black. We have a strict protocol for
ejaculate Extractions, among which is the requirement of a monitor to
insure absolute professionalism. That role will be filled by Dana, who
will also assist me in the Extration procedure.” Dana smiled at me
reassuringly.
“Our studies have shown that, while oral stimulation of the penis
provides a more accurate match to the nominal ejaculatory conditions,
it is difficult to reliably collect the ejaculate without sample
contamination. Instead, our standard Extraction procedure involves
manual stimulation of the penis to ejaculation, and sterile collection
of the ejaculate. We will also be taking some measurements for data
acquisition to aid our doctors in their further study. Your data will
be treated with the strictest confidentiality, and no public usage
will be personally recognizable. This was indicated in the forms you
signed when you arrived.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Do you wish to withdraw from treatment?” Padma asked, smiling.
Dana cut in, “We are required to ask.”
“No, I guess not.” I replied. “So, what do I do?”
“Very good, Mr. Black,” Padma said. “If you will, climb onto the
Extraction table and face downward, with your gown open. Place your
penis and scrotum in this hollow,” she indicated with a hand wave,
“and Dana will adjust the head rest so that your are comfortable.”
The table was covered in a white sheet with strategically placed
openings. I climbed up, adjusted my cock and balls so they were in the
hollow and rested on my elbows. Dana pulled the head rest out a bit,
and motioned for me to lay forward. Like the massage table I had
imagined it to be, my forehead rested on a soft cushion, and I looked
through to the floor below.
“Is that all right, Mr. Black?” Dana asked.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Mr. Black, again, do not be alarmed,” Padma said, “but we find that
it is necessary to strap our patients to the table. This is primarily
for your safety, as we will be raising the Extraction table and we do
not want you to fall.”
Dana interrupted, “First, Mr. Black, will you pull the gown out from
under your body? We need it to be open.”
I complied, and Padma started again. “Strapping the patient also
prevents unwanted movement that could spoil the sterility of the
ejaculate. May we continue?”
“Yes.” Not so oddly, I felt my cock starting to fill slowly with
blood.
“Place your hands by your head, Mr. Black,” said Dana, and as I did
so, she wrapped my wrists in cuffs that, closed with Velcro, held them
tightly to the table.
“I will also strap your chest, waist and thighs, Mr. Black,” Padma
told me, as she quickly maneuvered the straps into place. The ones
around my thighs held me less then half a foot from my groin.
Padma’Äôs hands were working under the paper gown I wore, and the feel
of her warm fingers on my cold flesh cause my cock to harden further.
Meanwhile, Dana had moved to the foot of the table, and started
cuffing my ankles in place. “This is just a precaution, Mr. Black,”
she told me. “We can’t have you kicking around. Some men have trouble
controlling their movements when they ejaculate, as you understand.”
“Mr. Black, I will now raise the Extraction Table so we can begin the
procedure.” I couldn’t see what she did, but the table went up until I
was a little more than three feet off the ground.
Dana squatted down in front of me, and looked up into my face. “Would
you like to watch the procedure, Mr. Black? Many of our patients are
more comfortable that way.”
I would definitely like to watch, I thought. “Please,” I replied, and
she wheeled a mirror out from under the cabinets. After a quick
adjustment, I could see down the length of the underside of the table.
Padma’Äôs loosely covered legs and white shoes were visible as well.
She was sitting on a swivel chair about half-way down the table.
“Is everything all right, Mr. Black?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Very good. First, a few more questions. Did you, as instructed,
ejaculate between 48 and 72 hours before your appointment today?”
“Yes.”
“And how did you achieve release?” Padma asked.
Huh? Oh! “My wife and I had vaginal intercourse.”
“Excellent! Have you ejaculated since then?”
“No.”
“Also excellent. Another question: do you have problems with erectile
dysfunction or premature ejaculation? We can accommodate you if this
is so.”
“No, I don’t have either problem,” I answered.
“Very good. Then we’ll begin.”
Padma’Äôs hand reached under the table, and flipped a latch I hadn’t
noticed before. A panel slid open, and she pulled it away. Hanging
down from the table was my stiffening cock and my heavy balls. It was
an unusual perspective, and I felt a bit out of my body. Was that
really my dick? I heard the snap of latex gloves, and Padma’Äôs hands
slipped under the table again and gently grabbed my growing erection.
Despite the gloves, her hands were warm. Now I felt back in my body,
for sure!
“Patient is circumcised and slightly tumescent,” she remarked to Dana,
I suppose, who I heard scratching on her clipboard. Dana’s feet had
retreated across the floor near the cabinets. Padma rolled my
testicles in her palm and squeezed lightly. “Patient has no sign of
testicular abnormality.”
“We will begin with depilation of the pubis and scrotum.” Padma said.
I watched as she squirted a large amount of gel into her hand. “Mr.
Black, this is a pharmaceutical depilatory creme. I will apply it, and
it will quickly and gently remove the hair from your groin area.” She
slathered it on me. It was cold and slick. She thoroughly coated my
balls and the base of my cock. “You may feel some tingling,” she
warned, and as she did, the tingling started and increased, but it was
not bad. “Now we wait a few moments.”
I heard the gloves snap off, and Padma got up from the chair and
busied herself at another task as I waited. Soon she was back at the
tableside. “Now we will wash off the residue, Mr. Black.” Dana placed
a shallow pan under the table, and gave me a quick smile as she did
so, her eyes peeking out from under her short bangs. Padma once again
reached under the table with gloved hands, this time holding a
dripping wet sponge, which she applied skillfully to my groin. The
warm water washed away the drying gel, and all my pubic hair came off
with it. There was a circle of bare flesh around my cock and balls,
but of course the hair on my belly and thighs was still there. This
would be an interesting look to explain to my wife or the guys at the
gym. Padma’Äôs hands checked my groin exactingly for any remaining
hair, and satisfied at her work, she explained to me, “Mr. Black we
will now make measurements of your fully tumescent penis and scrotal
volume, and penis length and girth. Volume measurements are made by
liquid displacement; we use a special non-wetting liquid to ensure
accuracy. Dana, will you ready the cylinders while I prepare the
patient?” My cock was growing harder again.
I heard Dana moving glass objects on the countertop, and Padma wheeled
away from the table again. I heard a drawer open and close, and more
gloves snapping off and on. She wheeled back, her white shoes pulling
the chair across the floor. I felt her place a light object on the
small of my back. “Stage One manual stimulation of the patient is
beginning,” she announced.
I watched with anticipation as Padma’Äôs hands reached under the
table. With her left hand, she lightly lifted my balls, and rolled
them in her delicate fingers. With her right hand, she traced lines up
and down the length of my cock, sometimes gently circling the glans
with her index finger. I was growing rapidly stiff. “Patient is
responding normally to stimulation,” she said. Dana wrote something
down, standing up near my head.
Soon, with just Padma’Äôs gently play, I felt fully stiff. I was about
to say something to let her know when she announced, “Patient is
nearing full tumescence. I will clamp the patient now.” Her left hand
left my balls, and I felt the object lift from my back. With her right
hand, she circled the base of my engorged cock and loaded balls, and
pulled them away from my body. “Mr. Black,” Padma said, holding the
object under the table where I could see it, “this clamp is specially
designed to allow blood flow into the penis while preventing
detumescence or ejaculation. It should not cause any pain, just a
slight pressure. If I pinch your skin, let me know immediately.” It
was molded of off-white hard plastic or rubber. She fit the first
opening in the clamp around the base of my erection, and the second
opening around the base of my scrotum. While holding it in place with
her right hand (and no longer pulling my cock and balls away from my
body), she closed the clamp with her left.
“Any pinch?” She asked.
“No,” I breathed.
“I will tighten it a bit. Do not be concerned with the increase in
pressure you feel. This is normal and very safe.” Her left hand
fiddled with something on the clamp that I could not see, and I did
indeed feel the pressure around my cock increase. As well, my dick
seemed to instantly swell and my ball sack tightened. The skin on the
head of my cock was shiny and tightly stretched. My prick was, quite
literally, throbbing.
For the first time, I moaned out loud and surprised myself.
“That’s fine, Mr. Black, just relax. Do you have any discomfort?”
Padma asked, as her hands disappeared from under the table.
“No,” I replied. I was trying to remember to breathe evenly.
Padma reached for something situated behind her chair and said, “I am
beginning Stage Two manual stimulation of the patient.” I watched as
her gloved hands reappeared under the table, wet with some kind of
lubrication. With the fingers on her right hand she made a ring around
my cock and drew it down the shaft and over the head. As it slipped
off, her left hand deftly repeated the movement. I groaned out load
again. It felt like a continuous series of rings were sliding down my
cock, forcing it to grow larger and larger. “Patient is continuing to
tumesce,” she said. I felt like I might burst.
Only a few moments later, she announced “Beginning Stage Three manual
stimulation.” Now, Padma’Äôs right hand wanked slickly up and down my
cock. Her grip was tight, but with just the right pressure. With her
left hand, she cupped my super-engorged cockhead and rotated her palm
rapidly about it. I was groaning constantly now, through gritted
teeth. Under normal circumstances, I would have blown my wad already,
but the damn clamp kept me from climaxing.
Padma slowed her wanking and her left hand fell away from my glans and
cupped my balls, rolling them softly. “Patient is fully tumescent.”
Then she lost some of her professional demeanor. “I believe so. Dana,
would you check please? I’m not sure.”
“Sure thing,” Dana replied. She squatted down next to Padma’Äôs chair,
and never looking toward my face, reached her gloved right hand to my
swollen cock. She replaced Padma’Äôs hand with her own and gripping me
tightly, slipped her fist up and down my prick a few times.
“You got it, Padma. Continue,” she said, standing up once again.
“Scrotal cylinder. B please,” Padma ordered, her left hand
disappearing from under the table.
Quickly Padma’Äôs hand came back, holding a glass apparatus somewhat
like a wide graduated cylinder. It was filled to the brim with a clear
liquid. She carefully maneuvered it under my scrotum and raised it
slowly. The warm liquid spilled out as my sack filled the cylinder,
splashing into the pan that was still below the table. When the rim of
the cylinder pressed against the clamp holding my balls down, she
stopped, and reversed direction. “Scrotum volume measurement
complete.” She handed the device to Dana. “Penile cylinder, C please.”
Dana handed another cylinder to Padma, this one longer and thinner
than the last. With her left hand, she pointed my cock straight at the
ground, and with her right, she raised the cylinder, my cock causing
the liquid to once again slosh out. Before the rim of the cylinder
reached the clamp, her hand slipped, and some of the liquid spilled
out.
“Oh dear! Another size C penile cylinder, please,” she asked Dana.
“I already have one prepared, Padma. Your doing well, just keep
going,” said Dana, handing her the next cylinder. She repeated the
procedure, but this time did not spill. “Penis volume measurement
complete,” she announced, once again handing the cylinder to Dana.
“Tape, please,” she asked Dana.
She then reached under me with a simple measuring tape, and stretched
the tape from the base of the front on my cock to the very tip. “PL
168,” she said, and then wrapping the tape around the middle of the
shaft said, “PC 155.” Next, she wrapped it around the circumference of
my swollen glans. “GPC 166.” Finally, she placed the tape around my
distended balls and said, ‘ÄúSC is 256.’Äů
“Mr. Black, are you still comfortable?” she asked.
“Okay,” I whispered. She was stroking my cock lightly again, gently
pulling the taught skin down and away from my body over and over.
“Very good. We are almost done with this part. Dana is going to Assist
in the Extraction now, if you don’t mind. Dana, please take your
spot.”
Dana stepped around the table by my head, and over to the left side.
“Stage Four manual stimulation is beginning,” Padma announced. I felt
Dana lift the back of my gown and tuck it into the strap around my
waist. My ass was exposed to the cold room air. Padma grabbed my cock
with her right hand, while her left hand squeezed my balls. Dana,
meanwhile, spread the cheeks of my ass apart, and quickly slid the
slippery index finger of her right hand into my asshole.
“Oh gosh!” I exclaimed.
“Mr. Black,” Padma explained, while Dana’s slick finger slid deeply
into my rectum, her knuckles pressing against the cold flesh of my
ass. “Our studies have shown that manual stimulation of the penis
accompanied by prostate massage produces ejaculation conditions nearly
identical to those achieved by a patient and his partner during sexual
congress. Please relax and we will finish the Extraction momentarily.”
“Okay,” I breathed. I needed to come very badly.
Dana began rubbing inside me. With the fingers of her free hand, she
drew soft lazy circles on my back and ass. I felt my cock surge while
Padma tickled me lightly and squeezed my balls. Every muscle in my
body was humming, and my cock was literally quivering. “We are ready
for extraction,” Padma announced after a few moments that seemed to
last forever. Dana began fingering my prostate more vigorously.
With her right hand, Padma reached away from the table and brought
back a small plastic jar. She attached the specimen cup to a swing arm
under the table, positioned it under my buzzing cock, and pointed my
cock straight down into it with her right hand while holding on to the
clamp. Then, her left hand deftly released a catch on the clamp, which
sprung open. I immediately felt a rush of fluid through my penis as my
testicles emptied, and glob after glob of thick come shot from my cock
as I pulled at my restraints. I think I was screaming. “Extracting,”
Padma said calmly, as she squeezed my nuts and kept my cock pointed
down. Dana pressed hard against some invisible spot inside my rectum,
and I shot with renewed vigor. Six, seven, eight bursts of come flew
from my cock, and I felt like I was draining out into the cup with
them. Finally I was spent, and I collapsed limply against the table.
Again, Dana pressed inside me, eliciting a moan and a few more drops
of come from me as Padma pressed and rolled my now-empty balls.
“Extraction complete.”
Dana slowly pulled her finger out of my ass, wiped a tissue quickly
over my butthole, and slid the gown back down to cover me again. Padma
removed the cup from the swing arm, and rolled away from the table. I
couldn’t move.
I watched the floor and mirror as the two women moved around the exam
room, removing their gloves, cleaning up, putting away devices, and
writing things down on the many forms on the clipboard Dana had
carried into the room.
Eventually, Dana pulled the mirror away and squatted down in front of
me again. “How are you feeling, Mr. Black?” she asked.
“I’m drained.”
“I know!” She smiled, and I did too, a little. “Ejaculate volume is
certainly not going to be an issue with you!
“So, while you recover, Padma would like to make a couple more tests.
Is that all right?”
“Um, there’s no way I can get it up – I mean, I can’t get another
erection,” I warned her.
“I understand. Actually, we need to take some measurements of your
flaccid state for the records. It will be much like the measurements
we made earlier,” Dana explained.
“All right.” I could hear Padma prepping behind me.
“While she does that, as Coordinator, I’ll go over what the next steps
in your care will be, is that okay?”
“Sure.” She stood up and, pulling over a chair, sat down next to my
head. All I could see was her knees and white sneakers.
“Oh, first I should ask if you have any questions.”
I thought a moment and one occurred to me. “You said the conditions
you used during the Extraction were supposed to emulate the
ejaculation conditions that occur during sex with my wife. Well, I
think the procedure was flawed, because I don’t think I have ever had
such a powerful, uh, orgasm, in my life.”
“That’s a good question, actually. The procedure isn’t flawed, you
don’t have to worry about that. Many of our patients feel the same way
you do. What the Extraction procedure is attempting to simulate is the
conditions of the ejaculate, not the orgasm. You see, the amygdala,
influenced by somato-sensory information, tells the hypothalamus to
have your testes release a certain quantity and quality of ejaculate
in a given sexual situation. There’s really no way around this fact.
What our doctors have perfected are techniques for superficially
enhancing the symptoms of orgasm, to, in effect, trick your body into
producing the type of ejaculate relevant for a sexual experience other
than the one actually occurring. Is that clear?” While she explained
this to me, I could feel Padma measuring my penis and scrotum volume
again. I felt no erotic response at all to her touching my genitals.
I didn’t get all of what she was saying, but it was clear enough, and
I told her so.
“If you like, we can provide you with reprints of some articles our
doctors have published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine,” she
offered.
“Okay, thanks,” I replied.
“Anything else? No? Let me walk you through the next steps,” Dana
continued. Padma had finished with her measurements, and was wiping
down my groin with a wet nap. The drying alcohol felt very cool on my
overheated cock.
“Mr. Black, we ask that you return for two more Extractions. The first
a week from today, and the next a week following that. We do this to
eliminate the possibility of an erroneous result or transient
condition in your ejaculate. Multiple data points allow us to be sure
the data is correct when the doctors make their diagnosis and
prescribe a treatment. Depending on the treatment prescribed, you may
be asked to participate in several more Extractions. Is that a problem
for you?” she asked.
“No, not at all,” I answered. “Um, will you and Padma be performing
all the procedures?”
“Oh, that’s very unlikely. Because the Extraction procedure requires a
new partner each time, a different Extraction Technician will run the
procedure on each of your visits. We like to switch off Assistants as
well, although this is not strictly necessary. It is possible that, on
a future visit, I would serve as your Technician, and Padma might be
an Assistant, but it would depend on scheduling.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Yes. So, as you did with this visit, you will be required to
ejaculate 72 to 48 hours before your Extraction. The purpose of this
is to clear the old sperm out of the testes, epididymis, vas deferens,
prostate, and seminal vesicle. Sort of flushing out the pipes, if you
will.” Padma was finally finished, and I felt her tuck my limp penis
and withered scrotum back inside the hole in the table before she
clicked the panel shut. The table then slowly lowered about a foot.
“Uh-huh.”
“We ask that you do not use auto-stimulation to ejaculate. The amount
of ejaculate produced is too small under those circumstances to
properly clean out your system. Sexual congress with your wife is
satisfactory, but we find that our patients have the best results when
they make use of our Private Emission Consultants.” I recalled the
chart on the wall; sex with a new partner ranked highest for ejaculate
volume for all the permutations listed. At the same time, Padma
started undoing the straps holding me down, beginning with my ankles.
“Oh?”
“Yes, our Private Emission Consultants will come to your home and help
you perform the required ejaculation. They are highly trained,
discrete, and ah, will be very accommodating to you and your partner’s
wishes.”
Padma finally uncuffed my wrists, and I edged myself up to a sitting
position, closing the gown in front of me. Dana handed me a booklet.
The title was “RSI Emission Consultants,” and there was a photo of a
smiling, attractive young lady on the cover. From her looks, she might
have been a university student.
“I understand that very often there is resistance to this idea on the
part of the patient’s partner, but this booklet will explain to you
and your partner that this method, statistically, results in the best
reproductive results for couples like yourselves. Of course, we only
want the best for you, medically speaking.”
Padma busied herself loading the sample she had collected into a tray
with the earlier blood samples.
“I’ve looked at your information,” Dana continued, “and your insurance
will cover these expenses as well. In fact, because it is part of a
single course of initial treatment, there is no additional copay. I
strongly suggest you make use their services. You will want to
schedule right away if you’d like to get your choice of Consultant.”
I glanced over the brochure. It looked very promising.
“You can change back into your clothes now while Padma and I tidy up.”
I climbed off the table, and shuffled behind the screen. My legs were
still weak. I could hear the two women speaking quietly.
When I came back out, now fully dressed, only Padma was waiting for
me. “Mr. Black, Dana has had to leave to see another patient, and I’m
due to meet them in just a few minutes as well. I will be performing
my second solo Extraction. However, I just wanted to thank you for
being such an excellent subject for me to train with, and I thank you
for your patience.”
“Well, thank you, Padma,” I replied, smiling. “It, ah, it really was
my pleasure. Good luck with your work here. I think you did a very,
um, professional job, and I’m sure you will be a success.” I was
having some trouble believing this was really happening.
“Thank you, Mr. Black. Good luck with your treatment – I hope that you
and your wife are able to have a child very soon. Dana wishes you the
best of fortune as well.” Her beeper went off. She offered her hand
and I took it.
“So, I must go. Thank you. Just turn left as you leave the room, and
keep walking until you reach the reception desk. Please give them this
paper,” she handed it to me, “and they will schedule your appointment
for next week. Please enjoy the rest of your day, and we will see you
on your next visit to RSI.”