It was early autumn of 1977 and Rachel Pot sat on an examining chair at a fertility clinic. She held her head low and bit her trembling lip hard, trying to hold back her emotions the best she could. Her reproductive endocrinologist had just Informed her moments before that she had a disorder called Endometriosis.. Endometriosis is a female health disorder that occurs when cells from the lining of the womb grow in other areas of the body. It can lead to pain, irregular bleeding, and problems getting pregnant... Her husband David was there with her. He stood next to her with a small frown on his face but stayed quiet. He rubbed her back gently, keeping one hand on her shoulder.
"S-so.. does this mean that I can't have a baby?" The woman asked in a small, soft voice and glanced up at the doctor again. Her eyes were all teary and inky looking, as she was on the verge of crying.
"No, not necessarily Mrs. Pot." He said and looked back at her again. "You might need surgery to try to correct the endometriosis." Her specialist explained to her before looked back at her charts again. "But for now, I'm just going to prescribe some medicine for you to take to try to treat it. It should help you and you may not need the surgery after all." He told her, trying to reassure her that everything would be alright.
She let out a deep sigh before closing her eyes tightly. She was studying to become a nurse herself and had heard about this disorder. She knew that she would most likely never be a mother now.. Rachel bit her lip again and tried to hold back a sob but was unable to do so. She gripped her gown and started to cry out, lowering her head again. David's small frown quickly grew and he moved so he was standing in front of her.
"Oh luv." he said softly and gently worked his hands into hers and held then close to his chest. He kneeled slightly so he was eye level with his wife. "Please don't cry.. Everything is going to be okay." He said quietly trying to comfort her the best he knew how. He offered her a dove-like smile before he moved one of his hands to her face. He carefully cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes before gently pushing a strand of stray hair back behind her ear.
She looked back up at him again before she put her arms around him and just clung to him tightly. He sighed gently and hugged her close to him, tenderly petting her head, trying to calm her still. He was upset too but he knew he had to be strong for her. He closed his eyes and stood there with her for a bit before he slightly pulled back and kissed her cheek. "Come on dear." He said softly and took her hands in his again and held them against himself once more. "Let's get you changed back into your clothes so we can go home."
She kept his eyes focused on the floor but gave a small, slow nod. "Okay.." She practically whispered. David held onto her hands still and helped her down from the chair. She stumbled ever so slightly as she stood up. She shifted a little and made sure her gown was closed before she turned to get her things.
The young woman gathered up her clothes before she stepped into the bathroom to change. David sighed softly as he stood there and waited for her. He closed his eyes tightly and began to rub his own head now. He knew that she felt awful but he also knew it wasn't her fault. They had gotten married about two years prior and since then had been trying to get pregnant. Rachel had had a few instances when she thought that it had finally happened but her period would never fail to start but just before she would take an at home pregnancy test.
"Mr. Pot." The doctor said, getting David to look at him. He rose on of his thick eyebrows slightly to let him know he was listening. "I've marked some days on this calendar for you and Rachel." He said. "They will most likely be the days that she will be ovulating." He said and handing him few pages that had been copied from a proper calendar. "These days are her most likely chances of becoming pregnant." He explained as David looked at the circled dates.
"Alright." he said softly and looked back at him again once he was done looking at the calendar. "Thank you." He said and lowered his hand back to his side, keeping a firm hold on the sheets of paper. Soon, Rachel returned to them. She was fully dressed now and picked up her purse, placing the strap over her shoulder. She looked at her doctor and quietly thanked him before taking David's hand and held onto it tightly. He held hers too before they said their goodbyes. The young man led the broken up girl out of the office and to their car, showing her the papers the doctor had given him on their way there.
He carefully helped her inside and closed the door before he glanced at the printed calendar and sighed softly. He tilted his head and counted the days until the first date was circled. Sixteen days. He closed his eyes, but just for a moment, before he walked on around to the driver's side and got in too. He put the pages of paper into the sun visor before he took out his key and put it into the ignition slot and started to cars engine. He glanced over at Rachel. She had her eyes closed tightly and head leaning against the window as a silent tear rolled down her cheek. He bit his lip before he reached over and gently took her hand in his own again and held it gently. She glanced over at him to see him giving her a small, reassuring smile. She didn't smile back. She just sighed softly and closed her eyes again. David's smiled faded and he sighed as well. He put the car in drive now and just drove them home.