(no subject)
Hello. I just turned 21, and I had a surgical first-trimester abortion on January 7 at the Hope Clinic in Granite City, Illinois.
My appointment was at 8:30 am, but my grandfather chose to accompany me, so he drove and we got there at 7:50. The protestors started harassing us immediately as we went to see if the clinic was open so we could wait inside, and then again as we went back to the car to wait ten minutes. I will say right now that this was the worst emotional part of the whole procedure, and I strongly advise that you wear earplugs if you go to a clinic with protestors, so you aren't tempted to speak to them... or commit assault. They said awful things to my grandfather, who is a better man than any of these horrible people who were shouting.
The security guard checked my photo ID against the record of scheduled patients, and once inside, Daddad was sent to a separate waiting room while I was given papers to fill out in a small waiting room with other women and girls. I waited a long time before being called for an ultrasound, which was quick and painless. I chose to look at the picture, but you don't have to. I felt better for having looked, though, because it reminded me that what I was aborting was a little blob, not a full-term infant like anti-choice people want you to think.
Then I was sent to the big waiting room with Daddad, where we sat and I chose a new method of birth control for after the abortion (Nuvaring, if you were interested, I like it) and was given a "patient information book" to read and return. The book was very detailed with illustrations and even a physical example of the small vacuum device that's inserted past the cervix. After returning the book and waiting another long while, I was called back for counseling, where a nice woman let me talk for a while, asked if I had questions, and when I did not (the book was very thorough) had me listen to an audiotape of the informed consent form while I initialed and signed it.
I waited another long while with Daddad until I was called back for lab work. This was the worst physical part of the procedure: they must prick your fingertip and get a small blood sample for iron levels and blood typing, and it feels quite bad for a little while. At this time I was given a Benadryl to make me sleepy.
I left the lab and waited a little while with Daddad until we were both called back to pay for the procedure, which was $375, plus $30 for Rhogam, which I had to consent to because my blood type is negative, even though I never want children in the future.
Then I was sent back to the waiting room and it was just a little while before I got to go downstairs to a dressing room, where I was instructed to take off my pants and underwear and put them in a plastic bag, then wrap a hospital sheet around my waist and sit and wait at a nearby table. I waited for about 5 minutes with 3 other girls, and we didn't really talk much, just fiddled with a puzzle that was on the table.
I was called back by a nurse, who had me sit on the table with the stirrups and lay the sheet across my lap. She said the doctor would be in shortly. She took my vital signs and placed a tourniquet around my upper arm, since I had already requested the extra pain meds, an IV injection of Fentanyl and atropine. I got this injection and almost instantly felt "fuzzy". It was pretty nice, actually. Then the doctor walked in in kind of a hurry, but said "Hello, Jessica," and chatted with me about school and my major while he did the operation. There was the speculum, then pinpricks as he numbed the cervix, then lots of random crampy weirdness (I was a bit out of it at the time.) It didn't hurt. At most, it was scary because it was unfamiliar and because I'd been so tense all morning, but physically, it was like someone doing a very inept Pap smear that gave me cramps. I would venture the thought that women who have had severe menstrual cramps in the past can easily tolerate the "pain" of a surgical abortion, because this was less severe than my worst cramps.
I was sent to recovery, which was basically lines of reclining chairs, and lay down while a nurse offered me some Sprite and pretzels. I was thirsty. I started crying at this point just from relief of all the tension I'd been feeling that morning, and then got my Rhogam shot and made myself stop crying. I got post-operation instructions, a free Nuvaring, a prescription for another ring, a course of antibiotics, and a carsickness bag, and Daddad and I got to leave. The protestors said rude things to us then, too, but we left quickly and I threw up in the car, but felt fine the rest of the day.
I am not sad. I do not feel sorry, really, except for getting pregnant in the first place. However, I am seriously angry all the time at the protestor who had the nerve to speak rudely to my grandfather, and I am seeking counseling to try and get over that, because the anger is damaging. I definitely do not regret my abortion, and I hope anyone else considering one has an equally positive experience.
I took some video of the protestors (who were very intimidated by that, and toned down their language considerably!), which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos.php?user=rhinecat It may be upsetting, or it may prepare you better for what you may experience at a clinic you go to. The transcripts are on my personal journal for those who don't want to hear this, or can't watch the videos.
Thank you.
My appointment was at 8:30 am, but my grandfather chose to accompany me, so he drove and we got there at 7:50. The protestors started harassing us immediately as we went to see if the clinic was open so we could wait inside, and then again as we went back to the car to wait ten minutes. I will say right now that this was the worst emotional part of the whole procedure, and I strongly advise that you wear earplugs if you go to a clinic with protestors, so you aren't tempted to speak to them... or commit assault. They said awful things to my grandfather, who is a better man than any of these horrible people who were shouting.
The security guard checked my photo ID against the record of scheduled patients, and once inside, Daddad was sent to a separate waiting room while I was given papers to fill out in a small waiting room with other women and girls. I waited a long time before being called for an ultrasound, which was quick and painless. I chose to look at the picture, but you don't have to. I felt better for having looked, though, because it reminded me that what I was aborting was a little blob, not a full-term infant like anti-choice people want you to think.
Then I was sent to the big waiting room with Daddad, where we sat and I chose a new method of birth control for after the abortion (Nuvaring, if you were interested, I like it) and was given a "patient information book" to read and return. The book was very detailed with illustrations and even a physical example of the small vacuum device that's inserted past the cervix. After returning the book and waiting another long while, I was called back for counseling, where a nice woman let me talk for a while, asked if I had questions, and when I did not (the book was very thorough) had me listen to an audiotape of the informed consent form while I initialed and signed it.
I waited another long while with Daddad until I was called back for lab work. This was the worst physical part of the procedure: they must prick your fingertip and get a small blood sample for iron levels and blood typing, and it feels quite bad for a little while. At this time I was given a Benadryl to make me sleepy.
I left the lab and waited a little while with Daddad until we were both called back to pay for the procedure, which was $375, plus $30 for Rhogam, which I had to consent to because my blood type is negative, even though I never want children in the future.
Then I was sent back to the waiting room and it was just a little while before I got to go downstairs to a dressing room, where I was instructed to take off my pants and underwear and put them in a plastic bag, then wrap a hospital sheet around my waist and sit and wait at a nearby table. I waited for about 5 minutes with 3 other girls, and we didn't really talk much, just fiddled with a puzzle that was on the table.
I was called back by a nurse, who had me sit on the table with the stirrups and lay the sheet across my lap. She said the doctor would be in shortly. She took my vital signs and placed a tourniquet around my upper arm, since I had already requested the extra pain meds, an IV injection of Fentanyl and atropine. I got this injection and almost instantly felt "fuzzy". It was pretty nice, actually. Then the doctor walked in in kind of a hurry, but said "Hello, Jessica," and chatted with me about school and my major while he did the operation. There was the speculum, then pinpricks as he numbed the cervix, then lots of random crampy weirdness (I was a bit out of it at the time.) It didn't hurt. At most, it was scary because it was unfamiliar and because I'd been so tense all morning, but physically, it was like someone doing a very inept Pap smear that gave me cramps. I would venture the thought that women who have had severe menstrual cramps in the past can easily tolerate the "pain" of a surgical abortion, because this was less severe than my worst cramps.
I was sent to recovery, which was basically lines of reclining chairs, and lay down while a nurse offered me some Sprite and pretzels. I was thirsty. I started crying at this point just from relief of all the tension I'd been feeling that morning, and then got my Rhogam shot and made myself stop crying. I got post-operation instructions, a free Nuvaring, a prescription for another ring, a course of antibiotics, and a carsickness bag, and Daddad and I got to leave. The protestors said rude things to us then, too, but we left quickly and I threw up in the car, but felt fine the rest of the day.
I am not sad. I do not feel sorry, really, except for getting pregnant in the first place. However, I am seriously angry all the time at the protestor who had the nerve to speak rudely to my grandfather, and I am seeking counseling to try and get over that, because the anger is damaging. I definitely do not regret my abortion, and I hope anyone else considering one has an equally positive experience.
I took some video of the protestors (who were very intimidated by that, and toned down their language considerably!), which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos.php?user=rhinecat It may be upsetting, or it may prepare you better for what you may experience at a clinic you go to. The transcripts are on my personal journal for those who don't want to hear this, or can't watch the videos.
Thank you.