Friday, July 13, 2007

A Breath of Fresh Air

Last night I had my girly appointment with my new doctor. I chose a young doctor intentionally, and I’m sort of getting used to having a doctor who’s my age, but I’m very impressed with her. She diagnosed me with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome when other doctors saw my weight as a cause rather than a symptom, and she’s very kind and knowledgeable. And, if I didn’t like her enough, we had this exchange yesterday:

Doc: “Are you planning a pregnancy?”
Me: “No.”
Doc: “Now, or not ever?”
Me: “Never.”
Doc: “I DON’T BLAME YOU!”

She proceeded to tell me how she wishes all her patients would consider what having a child meant. She admitted that she had no idea what she was in for when her daughter was born just under a year ago. “Your life doesn’t just change,” she said. “Your life is over! I’m just so glad I waited ‘til I was 30 and did everything I did until then.” She said it was the hardest thing she ever did and she could totally appreciate why someone wouldn’t want a child. Of course she loves her daughter, but she couldn't believe just how much of an adjustment it required in her world.

And the best part?

She never asked me why I didn’t want one. This was the absolute first time I’ve mentioned my childfree-ness to someone other than a fellow CF and the words “why not?” were never uttered.

It was so nice.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's fantastic! Your doctor rocks and how refreshing to hear her admit to how difficult it is to have a kid. Susan Jeffers wrote a terrific book called "I'm Okay, You're a Brat" which helps debunk the "having children is perfect" myth. I strongly recommend it!

RMS

Anonymous said...

How refreshing that you had a bingo-free experience with your doc! Usually docs are the biggest offenders when it comes to bingos.

Sounds like you've found an excellent doc =)

Feh23 said...

Thanks for the awesome blog!

Childfree Chick said...

You know what, I have a new gyno (she's young as well) and when we talked about my CF status, she didn't bat an eye either! She thinks I'm cool!

I love it!!!

Unknown said...

I am glad you have a cool doc!