AY C

Distracted today by an e-mail thing: PCOS...thrombosis... Decades ago the female doctor smiled and said "Let's wait until your doctor gets back from vacation...they are expensive, aren't they?" (the products)...In the kitchen of the dorm maybe they were making Japanese rice balls and I told friends, "I think I have to go to the hospital. I am having trouble breathing."  Vials of blood...useless, only half-filled. "Can't you use them anyway? I've already lost enough blood." Friends who were scared at how pale I looked were encouraging of me being feisty with the nurse.  A better-at-taking-blood lady from IV Therapy came. She was firm with me. She knew where to go to get enough to fill the vial. I told her her she did a good job. They should have sent her in sooner. Then a nice male doctor, or maybe two? "Taking three pills will stop  it." (I think they gave me a different pill.)  And days later, a very very kind woman OBGYN I may always remember even though I forgot her name (sigh!) told me that some people on the first pill had bad reactions / blood clots. Never have taken it since. I haven't tried any of them for a long time. Showers were miserably cold because of the anemia and also because the hot water wasn't working well. One night (maybe it was only the second night after I returned) I got very frightened, feeling weaker than ever, and they put me on the phone with my stepfather's son, a doctor. Do not go back to the hospital. He asked me about the numbers on the amount of blood they'd told me I'd lost. It was a few short of needing a transfusion. They did not want me to get a transfusion. They convinced me I could stay at school and survive the night. I started slowly getting better. It took perhaps two weeks? of staying in bed to get back to normal.  Gatorade. Iron pills. Nibbling protein bars. I asked the roommate to bring back meat from the cafeteria. I would eat meat. I wanted to stop feeling weak...miscarriages...possible causes...contraceptives...It was the end of vegetarianism.