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Showing posts from August, 2022

Bold Words, Broken Hearts

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  I was laying in an MRI machine looking up at this image of a maple tree on the ceiling. The first of many experiences that I thought I'd never have. I was trying to lay perfectly still as they snapped x-rays of my lower half. I remember feeling like I needed the toilet, but measuring the number of classical songs I'd heard, there must've been four, so at an average of four minutes each, we must nearly be done. I sighed. Please nearly be done. "Okay, Jessica, you can get up now. You may experience some dizziness or blurryness, so feel free to sit for a while if you need to."  I stood immediately and wandered off to get changed back into my clothes. Somewhere between having gotten dressed and leaving the MRI room, my vision blurred, but I slowly made my way back to Jon who was waiting outside in the car.  When I returned to the gynecologist, a week or two later, he had results for me.  "Everything internal is normal. Which is obviously good news. In terms of

Sometimes You Have To Go Backwards To Go Forwards

  Warning: This story is of a personal nature about women's health. This Doctor pushed his spectacles up his nose slightly, rummaging through his papers, his brow furrowing. His caterpillar moustache twitching. "I apologise for the unpreparedness. The computer system is down so I have to rely on the notes in your file." "It's okay." I smiled. "I know you used to see my mother, so I feel I am in good hands."  Once he had read through the notes, he asked to examine me, which led to a discussion. I sat waiting with baited breath for his diagnosis. "It appears you have what's called a labial fusion. You perhaps were born with it. In terms of your symptoms, they appear consistent with PCOS, but up until now you haven't been able to have an internal ultrasound, so it is hard to confirm. So I am going to send you to have an MRI of your lower abdomen to rule out any anomalies and that way we can also confirm whether you have follicles on your