The sun beat down on our clinic. Despite the heat, patients and providers continued to wear masks all day. With face coverings pulled over their cheekbones, it was sometimes difficult to read patients’ expressions, but for Dr. Ken (OBGYN) and Ruth (Translator) seeing Maria’s heavy eyes was all they needed to recognize the baggage she carried.
Maria, 31 years of age, came into the clinic expecting the same diagnosis she’s received time and time again since she first visited a doctor at eight years old – genital warts. When present at such a young age these warts usually indicate sexual abuse, which is tragically not uncommon everywhere. It makes sense then that our gyno team would start by asking Maria a question she was all too familiar with: “were you sexually abused as a child?”
Most of Maria’s face was masked, but Ruth could see frustration, and maybe some pain, flare up in her eyes. For a little over twenty years, Maria was adamant: she had never been sexually abused. So when Dr. Ken examined her, and concluded that these growths weren’t venereal warts, rather benign cysts that can be surgically removed, Maria was elated. Who knows the psychological toll she had been paying for so long, but after receiving a proper diagnosis and treatment plan today, her disheartened eyes suddenly sparkled with immense relief.
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A long while back, Luisa, a woman now in her mid thirties, was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome – a common disorder in women of reproductive age where the eggs fail to release from the ovaries at a regular rate. Doctors had given her birth control to help regulate her cycle. However, they told her she wouldn’t be able to have children. Luisa was devastated.
Today, Luisa came into our clinic with complaints of irregular menstruation. She told our providers that it had been eight months since her last period, which is highly unusual even for someone with PCOS. So, Dr. Ken ordered a pregnancy test and… well, you can guess what happened next.
As fortune would have it, the test came back positive – against all odds, Luisa was pregnant. Ruth and Dr. Ken revealed the miraculous news to Luisa. Her eyes conveyed shock at first, but then followed tears upon tears.
They sent her to our ultrasound technician, Nina, who confirmed Luisa was five months pregnant.
It’s a boy!
There were three other pregnancies ultrasounded today.
Happy days.
-Aodhan Ozawa
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