15th
All done!
I’m back from the hospital in France, everyone! I have to say that as far as minor surgical procedures go, this was pretty great experience. I’m feeling really good right now. My cramps are gone and though there is a little bleeding, it isn’t that uncomfortable. Also the nausea and boob tenderness have gone away, which is a little miracle in itself.
I’m trying to figure out what to say about the procedure itself. It was actually a lot different than I expected. The doctor was fantastic. I really mean that. I think she is totally responsible for how smoothly this all ran. If any of you girls are in NY city or nearby and find yourself needing an abortion, please email me at the address on the right and and I’ll give you the name of the doctor/hospital where I had mine done.
OK so here’s what happened. My boyfriend and I got to the OB/GYN division at the hospital about 10 minutes early. It was all very quiet and looked more like a nice quiet waiting room at a regular’s doctor’s office. It smelled nice and had very soft lighting. There were all kinds of patients there and also some random old ladies and old men that I think were there for some different doctors in a nearby wing. The woman gave me some papers to fill out along with a form with instructions for what to expect after the procedure (minor bleeding, possible cramps, instructions to avoid exercise and vaginal sex for two weeks, etc.). I filled out the form and brought it back and then she told us to wait. We sat for what felt like forever but what was probably only about 25 minutes and then she called me in. The first surprise was that my boyfriend was able to come in with me after the basic exam and sonogram. I was really happy about that and told him that the nurse would call him in when we were ready. I then went into the room and they weighed me (ugh…those cravings and bloatings were super evident on the scale) and then she had me strip from the waist down and cover myself with a blanket. I asked the nurse about sedatives but she told me that there wouldn’t be any. At this point I freaked a little bit, but she assured me that I was only a few weeks and that it would be ok.
She then left the room and told me the doctor would be in soon. So I sat and waited. And waited. And waited. It took a long time for the doctor to come in so I finally grabbed my iPod and started listening to the song Penelope by Pinback and trying to calm myself a little bit. She came in finally and introduced herself. She was super chill and upbeat and we talked a while about my birth control options. We decided to try me out on the NuvaRing for a few months although she also suggested possibly getting the shot which lasts for a few months at a time. We went over my medical history and then she did the sonogram (vaginally, which entails inserting a dildo-like object in the vagina and moving it around a bit. I’ve actually had this done twice before so it wasn’t weird). She wasn’t able to see an actual fetus, just a yoke sack and said that by the size I was probably only about 6 - 7 weeks along. She showed me on the picture and all I saw was an empty sack with a tiny speck in it.
She gave me the option of doing it medically (taking the pill), but I said that I’d prefer to just do it right there in the office. She said the benefit was that once she’s done, it’s done. She also told me that it would be done manually by her right in the room, so I didn’t have to worry about the loud scary sucking machine I’d read so much about. I was happy to hear that because it just sounded a lot more natural and gentle than the machine. She then had to read me a consent form and mentioned that my options are continuing the pregnancy or aborting it with the pill. I then signed it and she went to get my boyfriend and the nurse so that they could start the procedure.
