Whenever I mention that I've had a cyst removed, I hear someone tell me their cyst story. Today, as I was fitted for a bite guard by my dentist, she added to the litany.
I've heard about my mother-in-law having an ovary removed due to a cyst. She was 24 and still in Korea, the doctors told her she'd never have children. She told me the story to encourage me that I can still have babies.
My dentist tells me that she had one in her early 20's. In fact, she didn't have her period for two years, saw 20 different American doctors, and was finally diagnosed by a Chinese doctor (she's Cambodian). In the process of telling me about that, she mentions that she has two uteruses. Her doctor told her she was one of 150 women in the world with that condition. I was able to chime in, "One of my close friends in college had that. She has two cervixes, too. Every time she goes to the OB/GYN they ask if they can have their colleagues examine her as well (since it's so rare)." The dentist laughed and then asked if my friend had children. She was SO relieved when I told her that yes, my friend had a daughter and the pregnancy was fine. She told me she'd tell her boyfriend the good news that night.
It's strange to have the key to such intimate conversations! I've found out more about the bodies of women I know than I ever wanted to! I'm grateful for so much advice and commiseration, but still find myself a bit weirded out.
7 comments:
Yeah, I think it would be a little disconcerting to hear that from the dentist.
i've been hearing a lot about this two uterus thing. i think they had an episode of grey's anatomy or one of those medical dramas with a case where a woman was pregnant with a baby in each womb, but the babies had been conceived at different times with two different men. haha! and then in real life, at the beginning of this month, a woman with two wombs gave birth to twin daughters. the girls had been in different wombs. weird. so yes, i guess you could say pregnancy is very possible. double possible.
two cervix? That just sounds freaky...glad you're on the mend.
When Emily was sick I was always amazed how much other cancer survivors would share with us, details they don't tell family sometimes...glad you're able to listen...I would get a little weirded out too:)
I think it might be a cultural thing... somehow revealing biological details about one's body doesn't fall under the "modesty" department.
When people find others who have had a similar experience, it's common (at least in my experience) to open up and share very personal, intimate things about ourselves. It's almost like a "kindred spirit" thing. People who have "been there, done that" seem to "get it" in ways that people who haven't been there don't.
Isn't is strange how that works? I'm finding that too as I go through this long saga with trying to get well after a crazy childbirth. What's nice even though it's weird is that I'm finally conquering my embarrassment over bodily functions and intimate details related to a woman's body. It's weird to have my mom's friend who I don't even know be aware of my "broken butt", but it's also nice that I'm free of that debilitating shyness about everything involving my body. No one told me that you enter a sorority of sisters when you go through something involving that part of your body. Weird and nice at the same time.
that is kind of what it's like to be a nurse... lots of unsolicited personal health information from many quarters (friends, strangers, pastors, old high school classmates... the list, like yours, goes on....
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