Chapter 11
"Mr. President? Mr. President?" A strange voice cut through his sleep.
He jerked awake to find a strange woman bending over him.
"Yes? Is it about Abbey?"
"Yes, sir. I'm Dr. Cox, your wife's doctor. I'm sorry I haven't had anytime to talk with you before now. I've had several emergencies to take care of."
"Just tell me how my wife is. I haven't had any news since I left ICU."
"Abbey, I mean Mrs. Bartlet, is awake. She's been conscious for the last half hour and we're going to move her up here. But I want to talk with you a minute before that happens."
Jed stood up, his face visibly less stressed than just a few minutes before.
"Yes. I want to hear all about this problem. I knew nothing about it until I received a phone call yesterday. Abbey's friend, Dr. Griffith, only told me that my wife had been seeing you for a female problem and that the surgery should have been routine, but of course, wasn't. Please tell me some more details."
"Yes, sir. Please sit down and let me explain. First, Mrs. Bartlet doesn't know I'm talking with you. I have a high level of respect for your wife. She was my best attending of all of my surgical rotations during my residency and I have admired her all these years. Your wife has been seeing me on a yearly basis for the past five years, while you have lived here in Washington. Routine stuff. Pap smears. Mammograms. That sort of thing. But a few days ago she called and said that she had been having some abnormal and heavy vaginal bleeding for the past couple of weeks. I made arrangements to see her Friday, examined her, and did a couple of non-invasive tests, which were inconclusive. That's why I wanted to do a D&C."
Jed held up his hand. "Wait. Tell me what a D&C is. That's way out of my league."
"A D&C is a dilatation and curettage. Basically, the patient is under anesthesia while I dilate the cervical opening and scrape any contents of the uterine cavity out. In many cases, the bleeding will stop just by doing the procedure itself. I hoped it would give me additional information on the cause of her bleeding. It would also allow me to take a biopsy of uterine tissue to check for cancer. And, Mr. President, before you start to worry, there was no evidence I could visibly see that would lead me anywhere near that diagnosis. The sample is in the lab now and I'll have the report probably by tomorrow. Anyway, she started to have uncontrolled bleeding and her life was in danger. I did the only thing I could do. I did an emergency hysterectomy. That means…"
Jed knew exactly what that meant. "Yes, I know what that means. It means she is unable to have any more children."
"Well, yes sir. It would mean that if your wife was of childbearing age. But she's not. Mrs. Bartlet had already had signs of menopause and this will initiate what is called surgical menopause. I took her ovaries as well so she will be experiencing all the signs of menopause for the next few months while her body adjusts to having no estrogen. I can prescribe her hormones, but that will be her choice. I just wanted you to know all of this because I have yet to tell her. Since she has just now awakened for the first time since surgery, she has not been told what I had to do in the OR. Women accept it in different ways. I don't have a clue how Mrs. Bartlet will deal with it, but I wanted you prepared in any case."
"If she asks, should I tell her?"
"Yes, sir. If she asks you, be very direct with her. Answer all of her questions. Being a physician I doubt if she will have any medical questions but psychologically, she might have some trouble with the more intimate side of your relationship. I just…"
Dr. Cox's speech was interrupted by a team pushing the First Lady's bed into the suite.
Jed smiled at the sight of his wife finally being awake and nearby.
But the easy part had past. The hard part was just beginning.