Persistence and Patience Pays
Despite eighteen years of togetherness, successful careers and a house in Bombay, something felt amiss for Najoo and Sarosh (names changed). Focusing on climbing the ladder of success, time flew by only to bring them to realize that what they wanted was a child of their own, a family, a home.
It’s difficult as the narrator to this story to even start explaining the despair and disappointment couples experience on this journey. Struggling to have a child for couples is very stressful and emotional. At our first meeting, Najoo kept mentioning the yearning she felt whenever she held her niece. Najoo’s sister married in her late 20s, had her first daughter when she was 32 years. Najoo would often talk to me of the proverb that came to mind, ‘time and tide wait for no man (or woman)’.
But if there is one thing I would hold her attention to, was that, ‘patience and persistence pays’. What often gets couples bitter through their journey is the constant disappointment they face. It is hard to keep your hopes up. During such times, you need support. Luckily, our community’s couples have the support of the Jiyo Parsi programme, and much like Najoo and Sarosh, have the required professional counselling and medical expertise required to take them through.
Like most misnomers, when they heard about the scheme, they thought they were too old to apply and thus, hesitant. Truth is, the odds were stacked against them. But, as they say – when the going gets tough, the tough gets going! And after immense determination, faith, patience and persistence, and 3 IVF attempts, one miscarriage and 9 months of anxious waiting, Najoo and Sarosh finally held their very own bundle of joy!
No amount of words or camera lens can capture that smile! But their story definitely serves as an inspiration for couples across India, who may be hesitating, stressed, unaware or plain disappointed. Know, that the Jiyo Parsi programme is here to hold your hand. Najoo and Sarosh teaches us all to take that leap of faith. And today, I ask you to do the same!
