A bit of faith in humanity restored

Despite being so busy that I haven't known if I was coming or going for most of the week, two things happened this week that restored a bit of my faith in humanity.

First, I finally went to see the doctor about the period/clots/hot flashes/not sleeping issues that I've been having.  Well, technically, I see a midwife in a large university research hospital based practice (I set myself up with this practice when we moved to our city because would have preferred to give birth with a midwife attending-LOL...that worked out well for me).  All of the midwifes in the practice hold academic or research appointments so I'm confident in their knowledge and skill set and for the most part I've been ok with the treatment that I have received from them.  I've had some bad experiences with doctors in the past so finding a practice that doesn't suck on the first try was a huge bonus.  Anyway, for the first time ever I saw a medical practitioner about female issues that didn't downplay or write off my concerns.  She even inquired about the emotional impact of choosing to not pursue treatment/making the choice to not have children.  It was really nice to be treated like an intelligent human being by a medical practitioner.  And she got my sense of humor!  She ordered a bunch of blood tests and an ultrasound to check for polyps and fibroids so once all of that comes back we'll have a firm action plan.  Right now it looks like I'll be getting an IUD that releases a bit of progestin into my system and that should make my periods manageable (if not eliminate them all together!).  If I have polyps and/or fibroids those will need to be removed before the IUD.  The irony of most likely getting a long-term birth control device installed in my uterus is not lost on me.

Second, I had a conversation about infertility with a woman that I work with and she responded in the most perfect way possible.  I wish every person would respond with such empathy and understanding.  She even acknowledged how hard the past year must have been for me with all of the pregnant people at work (something like 8 babies have been born in the past calendar year) and how uncomfortable it must to be asked on a regular basis when I'm going to have a baby.  I wish that everybody could respond (to all of us) with the grace that she responded to me.

So a little bit of my faith in humanity has been restored.  Doctors that don't write me off give me the confidence to be vocal about the issues that I'm having and to advocate for my medical care.  Positive responses to sharing about infertility give me the confidence to keep sharing.