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When even these efforts produced no baby, we decided that the time had come to seek help from an infertility specialist. The fact that I was an OB/GYN resident made our infertility workup both easier and more difficult than most couples'. Because I worked with infertility patients myself, I knew where to go for the best care and had easy access to the doctors who could give me that care. But there were disadvantages, too. I had delayed going to see a doctor because of a professional pride that led me to believe that I could solve the problem myself. I also knew all about the difficult tests and procedures that come with an infertility workup and treatment. The worst thing about being an insider, though, was that I was often treated more like a colleague than a patient. I found myself wanting more specific explanations, more counseling, more comforting. And worse yet, I was the one who had to translate all the medical jargon into laymen's terms for mike, outlining for him the risks and alternatives for tests and treatments. It was hard to do that objectively, particularly when I was the one being discussed!
Physician heal thyself had its humorous side, too. At one point in our workup, we were asked to obtain some cervical mucus and mail it in dry ice to a lab in Michigan. Getting the dry ice and packaging was no problem, but getting the mucus was. At that time, I was beginning private practice and was unwilling (for reasons of modesty?) to ask my new partners to get the mucus for me. So Mike and I decided to do it ourselves. When the right time of the month came around, we snuck into my office late at night, after everyone, including the janitor, had gone. We felt like comic thieves in a movie and even jumped like frightened deer when a water cooler abruptly turned on. I got into the stirrups and with a hand mirror, directed Mike through his first gynecological exam. Mike, who doesn't even like for me to talk about what I do, was sweating awfully under the hot lights he was using to see through the speculum as I called out what to do: "It's that round thing in the middle. No, over there. Yes, that's it. Now take the..." We never did get the mucus, but at least Mike no longer suffers from professional envy.
© Jean W. Carter and Michael P. Carter
Credits: Perspectives Press
