Covid killed their son, hope reborn as baby girl in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Pragnya and Vimal Shah, a couple in their 50s from Nadiad town in Anand district, were crestfallen when their only son — Krupal, 23, — suddenly succumbed to Covid on April 25, 2021. Within days, more sorrow befell the couple when Shah’s parents Smita and Sevanti Shah also passed away, killed by the viral infection during the second Covid wave.
On December 1, when Gujarat was busy with the first phase of the 15th assembly election, the couple celebrated the fifthmonth birth commemoration of their daughter Hetvi.The couple had lost all reason to live as they reeled from the triple whammy of losing three members of their family to Covid. But they say the birth of Hetvi has given them hope and joy.
“You cannot understand the pain of losing your only son. Krupal was in the final year of MCA, days away from taking the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam and flying off to Cana da to build a career in the IT industry,” says Pragnya. “His future was bright and we as parents were thriving on the possibility of his success. Suddenly, that most important person was no more. I didn’t even get to meet him the final time due to Covid-death protocols. ”
The couple lost Krupal when all of Gujarat was going through one of its wor st medical crises, precipitated by the Delta virus-led second wave of Covid. These were the times when a large number of parents lost their children. These were also the times when a number of couples who were in different stages of planned parenthood lost their partners, putting their couple goals in jeopardy. An NRI woman had approached the high court to get permission for the extraction of sperm from her Covid critical husband, who was on ventilator.
Her hope was to become the mother of his child after his demise. That case had hit the hea dlines and profoundly moved people. But few couples could bear to undertake the journey to parenthood after losing young children to the pandemic. Pragnya says in her desperation to process the loss of her son, she had tried to get into the hospital as a fake patient so that she could talk to nurses or ward staff to know his last thoughts and words. “I was giv en a dressing down and sent away. Nobody understood my emotions,” says Pragnya.
As the Shahs grappled with their overwhelming loss, their family and friends came together to suggest a path to hope. “My sister, my husband’s friends and family members all told us that medical technology had made huge advancements and we could try for another child which could help fill the vacuum left by Krupal’s death,” says Pragnya. The couple clutched at this strawand started treatment merely months after losing their son. As Pragnya had her uterus removed years ago following a medic al complication, the couple opted for surrogacy. The Shah couple got lucky as the first cycle resulted in pregnancy. On July 1, 2022, the couple became the parents of a baby girl whom they havenamed Hetvi. The couple say that Hetvi has given them a reason to live. In fact, the couple say they do not feel the vagaries of age while bringing up the infant whom they think is a reflection of their son.
“Hetvi is my heartbeat. She is at the centre of my existence. Despite me hitting 50, I feel no fatigue or lethargy when I get up to tend to her, ” says Pragnya. Her husband Vimal, who shared a strong bond with their son, calls at least 10 times a day from his grocery store to talk to Hetvi on video calls.
Interestingly in the Shahs’ case, their friends and family supported them through their journey to reclaim parenthood. “My friends nudged us to come out of our depression and take help of medical a dvancements,” says Vimal. “Generally, couples get discouraged from becoming parents in old age — what will society say, is the fearful question. But society inspired and supported us. ” The Shahs believe that Krupal has come back to them as Hetvi. “Krupal was very quiet and happy as a child. Hetvi is like him, a happy child who does not fuss and give me tr ouble,” says Pragnya.
Dr Naina Patel, a fertility specialist in Anand, says the couple were staggered by their son’s loss and the child has helped them cope.
“But I was lucky we becam e pregnant before the new Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Rules came into force. They do not allow women over 50 and men over 55 a chance at parenting,” says Pragnya.
Fertility specialists say after the Covid peak, a number of couples rendered childless approached them. “But many did not meet the eligibility guidelines stipulated by the new ART rules,” says Dr Falguni Bavishi, a fertility expert in Ahmedabad.