Love in Photographs

18. If It's Not One Thing

June 21, 2015

I was up at the crack of dawn taking a shower to go to my appointment with the gynecologist. Harry had told me he'd come along, but I assured him that was not a good idea. Suddenly having my face all over the tabloids was one thing, but having him accompany me to a gynecologist/obstetrician's office would definitely not be a good idea.

Before Grace and Niall left last night, Grace had told me she'd come along, offering a ride that wasn't affiliated with the boys, which I immediately accepted. It was an early appointment, so she'd be able to come along then drop me back off at Harry's so I could make it to their promo that I had to go photograph.

After kissing a half-asleep Harry goodbye, I left with Grace around 7:30 and we made it to the office by 8:05 with ten minutes to spare. I filled out all of the paperwork, gave them my insurance info, and within five more minutes I was called back. Thankfully it hadn't taken long so far, because I'd had no food since midnight and I'd had to chug four bottles of water since 6:00 that morning for tests. I really had to pee.

"Rhiannon, it's nice to see you again." Dr. Johnson says as she walks in the room.

"You, too, Dr. Johnson." I tell her with a polite smile.

She walks over to the small desk and sits on the chair, opening my folder.

"We've got a few tests scheduled here, Rhiannon," She says as she scans the paperwork. "I'm going to take your blood pressure, take a blood sample, and then get that sent off to the lab while we do your pelvic ultrasound."

"Ultrasound?" I squeak.

"It's just to check for cysts or any other abnormalities that may be causing you pain during your cycle," She explains.

She takes my blood pressure and takes a vial of blood before exiting the room and having me remove my shirt and put a hospital gown on my top half. She knocks before entering a few minutes later.

"Well, Rhiannon, your blood work seems to show that your sugar is a bit high and your hormone levels are a bit off. I'm going to do the ultrasound now to check and see if you have any cysts." She says, opening a tube of gel. "This may be a bit cold."

She rubs the gel over my lower stomach, and then presses the remote-looking object right into where my bladder is. Now I really have to pee.

"Oh my," She says, staring at the screen. My head immediately snaps up.

"What's wrong?" I ask, panicked. She shuts off the ultrasound machine, and the screen goes black.

I feel my heart beat out of my chest.

She wipes the gel off of my stomach and has me sit up.

"You have a condition called endometriosis." She tells me, her face a bit more serious.

I stare blankly at her.

"What is it?" I ask, my voice small.

"It's a condition where the inner lining of the ovaries grows on the outer lining; it causes severe pain during menstruation." She explains, and I nod.

"So, pain medication or birth control should help?" I ask.

"For now, yes," She answers. "But this condition sometimes also results in infertility. It's not always, and most times a laparoscopic, minimally invasive surgery to remove some of the lining makes fertility possible, but without the surgery, fertility would not only be difficult, but it would also be dangerous."

I feel my heart sink into my stomach.

"So, for now?" I ask her, my voice emotionless.

"For now, we're going to prescribe you a pain medicine and a regimen of birth control to try and manage your symptoms. If the pain doesn't let up and your symptoms worsen, do not hesitate to come back and we can try and come up with another game plan," She explains, and I nod. "You are not sexually active, correct?"