Meeting new people all the time and ready to write a new book

I love my work!  It gives me such a thrill to meet people who are in any way associated with adoption.  It is such a happy topic and there is always so much love involved!!  I am inspired to get going with my next book now!  My first book is geared at 2 - 6 year olds but now that my angel is 6, I need to move to the next level.  My son, chose last night to ask me some pretty serious questions about his adoption and I realised it was time for a book aimed at Tweenies!  (9 - 13 Years)  Strangely, this morning, I met a 12 year old girl who is adopted and is going to chat to me later this week so I guess it's official....I am currently researching my new book!  Yippee.  I have a spring in my step.  I am also busy with my studies now......Diploma in counselling.  I want branch out a bit into "the other side"....pregnant teenagers!  So, if any of you know a tweenie who want to be invloved in my research (adopted or not), please let me know.  I will hold a free Tweenie workshop in the next few weeks so watch this space.

My next parent workshop (for pre and post adoptive parents) is on Sat 5 Feb from 09h30 to 12h30.  Please book in advance as space is limited.

A guest letter from Ally

Gabriel the snowman, June 2002

Meet Gabriel: Born in February 2002, miracle child of mine!

“ I thought I would have to teach my child about the world. Turns out I have to teach the world about my son. They see a child who cannot speak, I see a miracle that does not need words.”

There is a world that we all know and are familiar with, the world of perfection and normality and there is our world. Our world is filled with imperfection and heartache, it is filled with children with disabilities and abnormalities, it is filled with doctors, therapists, hospitals and medication, it is filled with love, affection and understanding, and with anger, guilt and pain. We never asked to be thrown into this world, it just happened that way but looking back now, we would not change a thing.

Ally and Gabriel, July 2002

Gabriel was born in February 2002. He was born with a cleft lip and after that he was diagnosed with Lobar Holoprosencephaly, partial Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum, Craniostynosis, Microcephaly, Absence Seizures and Diabetes Insipidus (water diabetes not sugar). We were devastated. It felt like our whole world had fallen to pieces. We were told Gabriel may never walk and may never amount to anything. We decided then and there that we were going to fight for our son's to quality of life and give him every opportunity in his life to help him achieve his full potential. And so our journey began…not knowing what the future would hold for our son... a rollercoaster of emotions... fear, pain, grief, sadness, guilt, blame, anger, hate, pity and then finally we found ourselves with acceptance and happiness.

Gabriel started therapy when he was 9 months old and we incorporate his therapy into his daily routines and it has become a part of our natural lives. He attends occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy and horse riding. Gabriel achieved all his milestones at the correct age until he was 6 months old and after that he started to show severe developmental delays.

Gabriel now goes to a wonderful special needs school in the mornings where he is thriving and is learning independence. He is currently assessed at about 10-14 months cognitively but we have learned to appreciate things that he can do, and not to look at the things he cannot.

Gabriel & Ivor, August 2003

Gabriel crawled at 12 months and walked at 20 months on his own. He is a very active curious child and has a strong will and determination that helps him to succeed. He loves to jump, play and sing. He has mastered walking up and down stairs on his own, can switch his electronic toys on and off, turn pages in books, chooses which toys to play with plus lots more. He is non-verbal and cannot sign but manages to communicate most of his needs with his eyes or body movements. He started eating solids at 3 ½ years old and now loves to eat all foods. He has very little concept of danger and needs to cared for and watched at all times. Sleep is not a word in our household but after so many years, we seem to have gotten use to the lack of sleep. We have adjusted our lives around the needs of Gabriel and this is our life. We know no other life and we have known no better.

March 2004

It has not been an easy road and we know that we have a lot of challenges ahead of us. But part of the healing process is acceptance and an understanding that every child is unique in their own way. The fact that our child will never leave home, will never go to a university, read or write, or ever get married is part of accepting, it is part of loving your child unconditionally and is part of the realization that Gabriel is perfect in our eyes and in God's eyes. It is the understanding that miracles do happen. That everything a child does is a miracle, every movement, every breath. It is part of appreciating life for what it is, for what it gives you and is part of changing priorities and seeing beyond what society dictates as normal. It is opening your eyes to see one of God's angels lying in your arms, smiling at his parents with his big blue eyes and blonde curls. Gabriel is GREAT teacher without knowing, and makes people realize what they actually have and to be grateful for just that!

Gabriel has an aura around him, an energy that draws people to him, an energy that makes every person smile in his presence, and an energy that makes everything around him radiate with sunshine. Gabriel brings us an overwhelming joy and our biggest motivation to keep going is his constant smile and laughter.

In 2008, Gabriel became big brother to Jaden after a long battle and he is now a normal and healthy toddler who loves his brother. Although Jaden has overtaken Gabriel in cognitive development, the two play together and enjoy each other’s company. My children have been my inspiration, and through the long sleepless nights and the stressful times when Gabriel is sick, I am still so grateful for every day that we have with him.

Living with Gabriel has become OUR way of life, no books, no instructions, the medical text books all say that kids with HPE mostly die or are "vegetables", BUT with only an overseas support group with an unbelievable bunch of HPE moms to guide and advise us along our journey which has been our saving grace . At least our medical team listens to us, and asks US what to do in some cases with Gabriel and even takes the advice of the support group, as it is us moms that know better about daily life with HPE than the specialists.

We have learnt that Gabriel is not his diagnosis and we try not to focus on it too much. Gabriel is Gabriel, and that is pure innocent love.

Gabriel & Jaden, 2009

It doesn’t matter what Gabriel can’t do. What matters is that we have been given this special child and that he has a happy and content life. It is as simple as that...

My baby is 6 years old!!

And so now my tiny prem baby is 6 years old!  He's just started school and he is an absolute joy.  I have met an amazing amount of people over the years who have adopted, want to adopt, know someone who has adopted, was adopted.  It's a funny thing that people don't really talk about unless the other person also has some involvement or a personal story to share.  Once you are in the loop, people seem to be involved an adoption around every corner.  There is so much joy in it but also a lot of fear, misunderstanding, misconception and hesitation.  The law in South Africa is tight - very!  Everyone is well- protected in the process and the process (by comparison to other countries) is fast and efficient.  

 I know lots and lots of people who have spent years undergoing fertility treatment and years being pregnant but miscarrying.  Once they start the adoption process, it is often 4 - 9 months until they collect their new addition.  Our adoption agencies and social workers are so good at what they do.  They really care about placing the right babies with the right families.  I recently met a Norwegian couple who put their names down to adopt a Xhosa baby from South Africa.  The entire process took 2 years and I met them when they arrived in SA to collect their son (who had a twin sister so they went home with 2 babies!!!!).  I think that 2 years for an entire international adoption is a really short time.  I have heard of couples overseas wating for foreign babies who have waitied 5 - 7 years!  That is hectic.  If anyone out there has a story that they would like me to post on the blog, please email it to me at adoptmom@mweb.co.za and let me know if you would like it to  be anonnymous or named.  I would so much love to hear from you!

I wrote a book for kids about adoption

Sometime during all this, I started thinking about what to tell him when he’s older; how much information to give him & when to give him the information. I started writing down little bits and pieces. I remember the social worker giving me this piece of advice. "Every time you do something he loves, like a bath or a walk in the pram or a tickle on the bed, use the word – adoption. Eg…who’s a beautiful adopted baby?" She said that he would eventually come to associate that word with happy times. One day when he asks what it means and we tell him, he will already feel comfortable that it is a good thing.

It hasn’t really happened like that though because we have ended up knowing so many people with adopted kids. The word comes up all the time and all the kids in the group are quite comfortable with it. Still, I had been writing some ideas down and had a thought to make it into a book. It was to be something that Alex & his friends could read that would explain why and how adoption happens. I wanted all the kids in his circle (adopted and biological) to be able to read in a fun, easy way about adoption. I finished writing the text and then struggled for almost a year to find someone to do the illustrations. (The long struggle was due to financial constraints.) Eventually, the book was illustrated, printed and for sale!  It is called The Greatest Gift.  It is aimed at kids aged 2 - 6 years.   You can see more about the book on my website:  www.thegreatestgift.co.za

Name changes and paper work

When babies are born, their biological mother has to name them and have a birth certificate issued. After the 60 days were up, we waited for the court to process the adoption application. Although the court papers took around 6 months to process, Alex was officially considered to be ours. In April 2005, we received paperwork from the Department of Social welfare stating that "According to the provisions of the Child Care Act 1983, your adopted child is now regarded as if born to you. Therefore you personally have to register the child under his or her new name and surname at the Department of Home Affairs nearest top you."

We took the papers to the Department of Home Affairs and applied for a name change and a new birth certificate. It is a very standard procedure involving long queues, inefficient staff, incorrect information and general mayhem. Eventually, I managed to submit the right forms with the right money! Around 8 weeks later, we received a brand new birth certificate from Home Affairs with Alex’s new name! The process was finally over! I applied for a passport for Alex and booked flight tickets to the UK. In July 2006, I took him to meet his great granddad (my grandfather – who lived to be 2 weeks short of 101!!) my sister and brother-in-law and all the cousins and friends that we have over there. Alex stole the show and crept into everyone’s hearts.

Using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to Achieve a Family: An Industry Insider’s Tips on Managing Your Treatment - Mindy Berkson

Fourteen years ago, I was confronted with my own infertility struggles: after having a successful first pregnancy, my husband and I were not able to get pregnant a second time and I was eventually diagnosed with unknown secondary infertility. Over several years’ time, I went through numerous insemination cycles and several in vitro fertilization cycles before becoming pregnant with twin boys. Treatment was difficult, both physically and emotionally and at times strained what was, until then, a very happy union.

Going through all this instilled in me a desire to help others through their own infertility cycles, and eventually lead me to start my own company, Lotus Blossom Consulting. What I present in this article are the lessons I learned not only from my own treatment, but also the sum of over fourteen years’ experience working in the industry and walking with others through their cycles.

I hope that this toolbox of ideas and pointers helps you as much as it does all my other clients.

ART is a full time job

For many who have not gone through infertility treatment, or who may have just started, they might wonder why there is so much fuss about injections and cycles, and treatment. We quickly realize that it is not just the stress of not being able to have your own child; assisted reproductive technology, in all its glory, is extremely hard to undergo financially, emotionally and physically.

Infertility cycles using ART require a strict and sometimes painful treatment regimen, involving heavy dosages of injectable medications, needles, policies about when to have sex, and frequent trips to the physician. Women may need several days off over the course of treatment for recovery. On top of it all, ART is not cheap, and if you are lucky, insurance might cover some of the cost. Finally, significant gaps of time pass with no results. There is a lot of “wait and see” in an ART cycle.

For many, such a strain on time, body and budget inevitably impacts their professional and personal relationships. Will you be able to get time off without having the entire office know? Do you tell your family? Will they be supportive? How long will it take to get pregnant? Can you afford more than one cycle? These issues along with a host of others create stress even in good situations. Managing all of these physical, emotional and financial arms is what makes an ART cycle another full time job. What this leads to is extreme stress, and it is clear that people make bad decisions under duress. My system encourages you to think about the whole picture and lay a foundation before treatment, so that decisions you make, at the time you make them, are the ones in hindsight you are glad you made.

7 effective strategies to maximize your opportunity

I have seven points that I go through with all of my clients when I first meet with them. This helps us clarify goals, examine differences of opinion and determine answers to “if, then” scenarios. This is the foundation of the family building plan. Talking through these points alleviates some of the stress that can crop up later, and allows you to move forward more quickly and confidently when treatment does not go as planned.

Enlist a team approach including multi disciplinary professionals to address specific needs

“Enlisting a team approach” means relying on the professionals available to you for their area of expertise. What I often see are people who look to their physician or nurses for emotional support and counseling as well as legal and financial advice. As wonderful and caring as these people are, oftentimes they are unable to fulfill this role. Not only is this not their function, but they simply do not have the time to be the emotional ballast for all of their patients. People become unhappy with their doctor when there is no fault to blame. The solution is to rely on them for their subject matter expertise and use your friends, family and a therapist for emotional support. Use your legal counsel for your contracts in a third party cycle, and your accountant or financial planner for help planning costs. 

Establish a foundation of financial resources

Speaking of financial planners, the second step I review with clients is making sure that at the outset, they have enough funds set aside not only to pay for one treatment cycle, but to cover all potential costs involved with two cycles. It is a very real possibility, especially depending upon your diagnosis, that the first cycle might not be successful. Balancing hope with caution is an essential element to staying positive and clear when treatment does not go as planned, and having the financial resources available to move immediately to the next step if necessary takes some strain out of the situation. 

Define the end family building goal

Understanding how big you want your family to be drives early decisions, particularly financial planning. Additionally, this impacts how you might use your insurance benefits and how you handle third party cycles. 

Set financial parameters and timeframes to help guide you through treatment options and establish indicators to know when to change the course of treatment

Establishing financial parameters and timeframes means discussing the common “if, then” scenarios encountered with ART as well as your own personal situation. It involves taking an honest look at your diagnosis and realistic outcomes in terms of your family’s financial plan. Although this is difficult, it is easier to do when you, your partner and physician are not already invested in one, two, or however many cycles down the road; it is easier now than when you are already tapped out financially and have used up all of your insurance benefits. Having the discussion as part of the foundation building component of your treatment allows for an optimal decision. You avoid having the decision tainted by any other undue stress.    

Analyze each chance of success in conjunction with the financial outlay.  Enlist an independent unbiased perspective to help you since judgment is often clouded by intense emotions.

As I mentioned just a moment ago, part of setting parameters and timeframes is taking an honest look at your diagnosis and the average success rate given your situation. Use an infertility consultant or other professional whose opinion you value to help guide you and your partner through this process.

Communicate often and openly with your partner to identify and address each others’ concerns.  Work together to be effective team leaders.

We hear this often enough to know that this is a fundamental truth to any good relationship. Easier said than done, right? If you find it hard to communicate with your partner, enlist a professional to help you with this. Infertility treatment is well known to cause stress and strain even in a good, solid partnership. Break the ice; bring up the issue- do what you need to keep the relationship healthy through the stress.

Make informed medical decisions and be confident in your decisions as you work to achieve results. 

In order to be confident with your decisions and secure in your plan, you need to make informed medical decisions. Knowing at the highest point of stress, or when the worst “what if” scenario becomes a reality, that you made your decisions in good stead with open and honest communication with your partner and your team gives a great sense of comfort and eases the pain. 

Making an informed decision involves educating yourself about your diagnosis and the available treatment options for your condition. It means realistically analyzing the chance of success for each treatment option in light of your financial situation. Do not be afraid to ask your physicians all the questions you have, and seek a second opinion if you feel you need to. Additionally, do your insurance homework to ensure that you maximize all your lifetime benefits. Call your provider more than once if need be and send a letter to them requesting your benefits in writing. 

Also, plan for multiple cycles and if you are using a third party, identify the best possible resources for donors or surrogates. Identifying a candidate that closely meets your criteria affords a confidence level for the cycle, and with resources available nationwide there is no need to settle for a candidate.

ART does not have to be overwhelming.  ART can be challenging, sometimes scary, often exciting and always very powerful. Do not be afraid to ask questions and seek help. The rewards you reap as a result of your effort and hard work building the foundation for your cycle will be well worth the time and effort devoted to the journey. 

Scary times...waiting for 60 days to pass

Once we came home from the hospital, it all started to sink in. People would phone and say “how is your son doing?” or “is your son keeping you up at night?” or “how are you coping with parenthood?” Each time someone asked those questions, it felt so amazingly good.   I thought I would burst with pride. It’s really hard to explain the feelings of euphoria that go with being a new parent!

 

Our little one was very well-routined after a month in hospital and fed every 4 hours and slept the rest of the time. It was all amazingly easy! (The hard part was only to come months later when the teething began!)

 

The only darkness in this otherwise delightful time was knowing that the biological parents had 60 days in which to change their minds. Although the thought did not consume us, I have to admit that it crossed our minds a few times. Those times were really, really challenging. The thought of losing him after all the years of waiting and the month of terror in the hospital was just too much to swallow! Eventually, I called the social worker to talk about my fears. She said she would chat to their social worker and see if she could get any info. She called back a while later and said “the biological family would like to meet with the 3 of you”. 

 

I immediately assumed the worst. I burst into tears and asked her if they wanted him back. She assured me that was not what the meeting was about. They had only ever seen him as a very sick, delicate little thing full of tubes and machines. They had only ever seen us in a state of shock and very tearful. They wanted to see us in a normal, happy environment so that they could get a picture of how his future would be. I didn’t believe her. I was convinced they wanted to take my child away. I was stuck. The social worker agreed to go along with us to “mediate” and help control what could become a very emotional gathering. We all arrived at a coffee shop and sat down. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. We made polite conversation and all stayed on edge. I guess, they were trying their best to come to terms with giving up a child and we were trying to come to terms with taking a child from people who were clearly good, loving, warm people.

 

It was not pleasant for me and I know it was hard for them. Alex slept through most of it though! I eventually blurted out my fears and they were horrified! They assured us that they were 100% happy with their decision. They were certain we were the right parents to raise this baby and they had absolutely no intention of changing their minds. I felt better. I did not feel 100% safe but I felt better.

 

We left, promising to keep in touch with updates on Alex’s progress. I counted the days down……….60 days was up on 24 Dec. They did not change their minds. On Christmas Day 2004, Alex officially became ours. Need I say more about Christmas gifts? That one can never, ever be topped!

 

Navigating the Infertility Maze Abroad - Mindy Berkson

With the donor egg and sperm shortage, anonymity laws and the limited access to surrogate candidates, more and more consumers / patients from European countries are traveling abroad to seek treatment options that will help them have their own biological children. 

The term “Medical Tourism” has gained popularity over the years, but it truly involves embarking on an unknown journey when exploring healthcare options in foreign countries.  Knowing how to identify appropriate resources and engaging unbiased professionals can be risky and sometimes a bit overwhelming and scary.  Healthcare decisions and most importantly, the operation of the healthcare system in the US in particular, is very different than the healthcare networks in other continents. 

At Lotus Blossom Consulting (LBC) our mission as patient advocate is to arm consumers/patients with information and education to make the best medical choices abroad.  Providing clients with targeted questions specific to their diagnosis, identifying resources to suit individual criteria and securing a team of unbiased multi-disciplinary professionals are all essential elements to successfully overcoming infertility.  Working with the Consultants at LBC, you will be assisted every step of the way from securing your hotel and travel accommodations to identifying your ideal team of worldwide professionals which includes reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists, attorneys, financial and estate planners, insurance agents, immigration attorneys, and translators, to help you through a successful fertility arrangement.

One factor that can significantly increase the overall price of treatment for international clients is the lack of insurance coverage.  In our experience, the best insurance options are selected after a thorough evaluation performed by a licensed insurance agent to make the best possible choices available to mitigate financial risk factors while simultaneously addressing individual risk adversity.  LBC Consultants work very closely with teams of insurance agents to identify policies and plans that suit all parties in the surrogacy arrangement.

Working with our consultants will help streamline the fertility process from beginning to birth, and most importantly, help maximize your chances of success and minimize your financial expenditure.  But our work does not stop there.  Even after the birth, we work closely with teams of immigration attorneys and estate planners to ensure that intended parent(s) are well informed and educated about the advantages and disadvantages of various options. This is critical to the decision making process at birth, as it can greatly affect the ability to legally return to your home country with your child(ren), as well as impact the future lifestyle of your new family unit.

Lotus Blossom Consulting works with individuals from across the globe on a case-by-case basis to help facilitate the infertility process, taking into consideration clients’ emotional, physical and financial infertility issues and then develops an individualized, comprehensive plan, to help clients make informed decisions and pull together a team of unbiased professionals to accomplish a treatment cycle. Mindy is a sought-after infertility expert and has appeared on countless media programs and speaker panels educating audiences on the topic of infertility, egg banking and surrogacy. 

For more information about Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC, 00 1 847 881 2685, email  mindy@lotusblossomconsulting.com or visit the web at www.lotusblossomconsulting.com or www.infertilityconsultant.com. 

We meet our son

It’s so hard to explain the next two hours. It was certainly the most emotional day ever. We hugged, we cried, we spoke, we hugged again. We clicked. We really liked them. After an hour or so, the ICU sister told us we could come in and meet him. As we approached the door to the ICU, the alarm on the incubator went off and we were hurried back to our meeting room. That was the worst 5 minutes of my life!!! I really though he might die before we’d even met him. I loved him so much and I couldn’t bear to lose him now. It turned out that he had pulled the ventilator tube out and they just reinserted it. We were finally allowed in to see the tiniest, scariest, most beautiful little person. We were petrified of him! He looked like he could break in half………all ribs & tubes & machines. We stayed late that night, just looking at him…….in silence. The ICU staff answered our few questions but mostly we just sat.

 

What followed was a month of highs and lows in the ICU. He had great days and awful days. Prem babies take 2 steps forward, 3 steps back, 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Every hour, every gram put on or lost, every 10 ml of milk consumed, it is all counted and at all determines how the baby is doing. 

 

After exactly 1 month in ICU, we were allowed to bring our 1.9kg baby home with us. 

His name is Alex.

Building the Foundation for Surrogacy Brick by Brick - Mindy Berkson

With so many moving parts to surrogacy it is no wonder the process can be overwhelming.  Learning to be your own best advocate, effectively planning financially, physically and financially help you maximize your chances of success and minimize your financial expenditure. 

The first step in building the foundation is preparing to pay for treatment and the ancillary costs associated with surrogacy.  Finances are specific to individual circumstances.  Sometimes savings are available, often the sale of portfolio items are used to fund treatment.  A third popular option are various borrowing opportunities.  All of the above should be discussed with a tax professional and or financial planner in the context of your individualized circumstances.  It is also vital to plan and prepare for multiple treatment cycles. In my experience balancing hope with caution is what helps my clients to approach treatment with clear expectations and realistic parameters. 

The second step in building the foundation is to identify the fertility center, the Reproductive Endocrinologist and the Embryologist who have above national average success rates for the type of treatment you are exploring as well as a specialty in treating your specific diagnosis.

The next resource is identifying the right donor and/or surrogate.  Seeking ideal criteria in a perfect stranger is often a very intimate process.  There is always some level of risk in the decision making process.  Being your own best advocate is helpful in mitigating and or eliminating potential stumbling blocks.  Identifying a candidate on line can be risky since they are not screened and you will not have the benefits of a third party to act as an intermediary.  On the other hand, it is necessary to be aware of onerous contracts with recruiting agencies. 

The fourth brick in the foundation is understanding the legal terrain and how it affects your specific situation.  Surrogate friendly states vary across the country.  Surrogate friendly means that parentage can be achieved at some future point after birth.  But from state to state this varies greatly.  Some states require pre birth orders to get intended parents names on the birth certificate after the birth and other states require a formal adoption after the surrogate delivers.  Other states are favorable in getting intended parents names on the birth certificate at birth, as long as one parent is biologically related to the child.  Furthermore, often how the embryos are created, and with whose biological material is relevant to the big picture.  Thus, the individualized situation can and does impact the selection of a surrogate candidate from state to state.  Finally, selecting a surrogate with like-minded intentions for the term of the pregnancy is essential. 

There is still more to consider.  Most health insurance policies have exclusions for surrogates.  Therefore, it is essential to analyze policy alternatives that may help you to save thousands of dollars in the future.  Some states offer maternity policies, other states offer nothing.  Disability and complications only polices can often be purchased to offset financial risk.  But it is the gap analysis performed by the licensed insurance agent that can help uncover what is best for your given situation, the surrogate, the state where she will deliver, and how these factors impact your individual risk adversity given your personal financial situation. 

Another extremely important and often overlooked resource in family building is estate planning.      Prior to surrogates going to embryo transfer it is essential to engage an estate planner to draft directives and desires and prepare effectively for any unforeseen circumstances.  This provides the most protections for all involved parties. 

Building the foundation for treatment is essential.  Knowing all available options, researching the viability of each options, interviewing several reproductive specialists to determine if you are in the right place are all very relevant and key factors to consider before patients begin the journey. 

When making educated decisions to pursue treatment options, I encourage my clients to take into consideration all the facts.  Because making informed medical decisions is the best way to maximize their chances of success and minimize their financial expenditure. 

As one of the first infertility consultancies in the United States, Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC was founded by Mindy Berkson in 2005.  With more than a decade of experience at physician’s offices, and egg donor and surrogacy agencies, Berkson assists individuals working through the often-challenging roadblocks of infertility, by providing the best information and resources available to them from around the world – all in one location.

Lotus Blossom Consulting works with individuals on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration clients’ emotional, physical and financial infertility issues and then develops an individualized, comprehensive plan, to help clients make informed decisions and pull together a team of unbiased professionals to accomplish a treatment cycle. Mindy is a sought-after infertility expert and has appeared on countless media programs and speaker panels educating audiences on the topic of infertility, egg banking and surrogacy.  For more information about Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC, call toll free (877) 881-2685, email  mindy@lotusblossomconsulting.com or visit the web at www.lotusblossomconsulting.com or www.infertilityconsultant.com.