Friday, May 16, 2008

Mad Dash to the Gyno

Today I unabashedly go to the gyno for my annual exam and to hear the results of my pelvic ultrasound. I called three times to get my test results over the last two weeks. The doctor's office claims they called twice and left me messages, which I never received. How is this possible? Jeff claims he never got any messages. This is me trying not to be annoyed and failing miserably.

When you've got a weird pain, you want to know what's causing it, without any delays. Hopefully, I'll know soon. I hate the suspense, but I must endure it. Now would be a perfect time to go running, if I knew I didn't have to have my feet in the stirrups in less than three hours. Talk about feeling vulnerable.

First signing in with the receptionist and the mandatory waiting room stint. Then getting your blood pressure taken and your weight measured, followed by the wait in the examining room for the gyno. I try and wait a little bit before I get undressed because I know I'm going to be sitting there for awhile, freezing and feeling vulnerable before the doctor arrives. I debate whether or not I should try and peruse an old magazine or stare at the medical charts on the walls. I do both. I have the time.

There is just something unnerving about sitting there in the silence of the gyno's examining room, dreading the experience and glancing malevolently at those stirrups; instruments of torture. There sits the speculum and the tube of lubricant waiting for use on the side table along with a pair of Latex gloves destined to be worn by the hands that will soon be probing the depths of my uterus, seeking to examine the health of my ovaries.

It's quite the experience, stripping naked and putting on a drafty gown, then having to put your business up in the air and leave yourself exposed to medical scrutiny... Even though Dr. Shah has been my gyno for 7 years now, I still don't completely relax when I'm being "examined."

I start to think about why a doctor chooses to become a gynecologist. Who would want to look at vaginae all day long? Who would spend lots of money on their educations to do such a thing? God calls men and women with unique gifts to different professions. His will amazes me.

So I go to the gyno today, trying not to worry, trying not to dread the visit. I will try and see it as a privilege and a blessing. Not everyone has the chance to do what I will do today, and I quietly rejoice. Make that very quietly.

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