Monday, February 2, 2009

Pus and Tubes at the Death Star

The tower looms up into the grey Vancouver winter sky. Fifteen floors of impersonal, cement general hospital. Endearingly known as the Death Star.

We see lots of ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and the most common thing I've seen? TOAs. Tubo-ovarian abscess. A big ball of pus wrapping your fallopian tubes in inflammatory angryness and your ovary in cozy adhesions. Causing you infertility and ectopic pregnancies in the future. Why all the pus? There's not enough condoms in the world. Why can't people just use a bleeding condom? Not gonna lie. I get the impression that Chlamydia is overated.

The drizzle falls. The pager beeps. I count up the days I have to go before I get to sleep in for a day... 1,2..... 18, 19.....26..... hmmmm... 26 days in a row. Mild nausea sweeps over me.

Three weekends in a row. On call.

Truth is, pus in the pelvis is fine... but I miss babies and the Happiness Ward.