‘Miracle’ Baby Still a Surprise

--Carole Jalbert, whose sister carried a baby for her as a surrogate, says motherhood is even “better than I hoped it would be,” while her sister says she has no regrets about giving up the child. “Kristen is a miracle,” said Carole, 38, who had a hysterectomy at 21. “The surprise still hasn’t totally worn off. I never thought I’d have a child.” That changed three months ago, when her sister gave birth to Kristen Jennifer. She had been artificially impregnated nine months earlier with the sperm of her brother-in-law, Police Officer Ernie Jalbert. The unusual arrangement gained national attention, and the women received dozens of supportive letters and phone calls, including several from sisters who are now trying the same thing. Shortly after Kristen’s birth, Carole’s sister, Sherry King of Tamarac, Fla., who has a 3-year-old daughter with her husband, Owen, returned home from Danvers, Mass. She says she’s felt like an aunt--not a mother--ever since the birth. “I haven’t any sense of loss. Not even a little bit,” she said in a recent telephone interview. “I never felt as if Kristen was mine. She was always my sister’s baby. We’re still excited about it,” she added. “Now, I’m back home and Carole is doing exactly what she’s always wanted--being a mom.” Carole agrees whole-heartedly.

--Novelist James A. Michener was in stable condition at Seton Medical Center in Austin, Tex., recovering from open-heart surgery to remove blockages from five arteries, hospital officials said. Michener, 78, who moved to Austin in 1982 and spent 2 1/2 years researching his current best-selling novel “Texas,” was admitted to the hospital’s emergency room Saturday complaining of chest pains, hospital spokeswoman Linda McFarland said. She said doctors determined that Michener had not suffered a heart attack but decided to perform cardiac bypass surgery Saturday night after finding blockages in his arteries.

--Britain’s Prince Charles arrived in Houston--the midpoint of his five-day trip to Texas to help the state celebrate the 150th anniversary of its independence from Mexico--and was greeted at the International Airport by Mayor Kathy Whitmire and other officials. The royal motorcade of five Jaguar sedans toured the city, visiting the San Jacinto Monument marking Texas’ victory over Mexican forces in 1836 and making a stop at a retirement home named after the prince’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten. After a formal dinner given by Whitmire, Charles is scheduled to leave today for activities in Austin.