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November 7, 2005
My First Pelvic Exam
Well, if the title wasn't enough of a warning I'll be a bit more clear here. This post is about a pelvic exam. One I happened to experience.
Rebecca was pregnant with our first child. We'd gone to see the doctor for a pre-natal visit and when Rebecca's name was called I went back with her. I'm a liberated, supportive man, and I needed to know what was going on.
We sat down for a few moments and talked. The doctor eventually asked Rebecca to lay back on the table and put her feet in the stirrups.
I wasn't worried. Nothing was going to happen yet. I hadn't been excused from the room.
The doctor drew the curtain around the three of us. I thought, "Oh my god! He's forgotten I'm here."
He lifted the gown and took a peek under the hood. He then turned to me and said, very casually, "Mr. Wells. Come take a look at this."
He had not forgotten I was in the room after all.
In keeping with the most-of-the-time-mostly-family-orientedness of this blog I won't go into too many details. Let me just say that an extra long Q-Tip (with a wooden shaft) and some poking was involved. Also some agreeable "mmmhhmm" 's on my part.
I seemed to be the only one in the room that thought this was out of the ordinary.
Guys, can you imagine going to the doctor and having him yell out into the waiting room, "Mrs. Smith! We're going to check your husband's prostate now. Could you step back to the examination room. We've got a glove in the freezer for you."
It just wouldn't happen.
Not without some sort of admission fee anyway.
Posted by delmer at November 7, 2005 6:06 PM
Comments
That is a really WEIRD story. I bet your wife was really happy that the two of you were examining her like that.
Posted by: The Phoenix at November 8, 2005 9:14 AM
The whole time I was in there I felt like it was an incredible invasion of her privacy. I think women have different experiences with doctors and aren't put off too much by it.
Years before -- when I was in college -- I had to have my backside examined. It involved a bigger version of that thing they look into your ear with. The whole time the doctor was looking around I was apologizing for putting him through it.
He finally said "You know. We look into a lot more butts than you might realize. The only people who ever apologize are the guys."
Posted by: delmer at November 8, 2005 11:08 AM