When I went into the doctor for a physical, after a few years of avoiding the doctor due to lack of insurance, I got horrible news. My doctor found a lump on my thyroid. It was months before I got further tests, first than ultrasound then a biopsy. All pointed to cancer. I was devastated. It was a very hard time and I had been keeping it secret from nearly everyone during my health journey. It was as if I was in a fog that no one else could see, and I didn’t invite anyone else to see it but a few, including my boyfriend. For at least 5 years, my boyfriend and I had used the pullout method. I often didn’t get a period when I was stressed out, and this was a very stressful time.
I was told to get my cancerous thyroid removed. I was planning on recovering then undergoing radiation. My mind was a blur, I was only 30, how could this be? On the weeks before my surgery I had many blood tests, including for pregnancy. On the day of my surgery my pregnancy test was still not pregnant, but at that time I was probably 4 weeks pregnant.
When they removed my lump, they found it was not cancerous, and I got to keep half of my thyroid. When I was recovering, I got constipated, and wondered when I would get my period now that I could relax. 3 weeks after my surgery, I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant. I was jobless, on Medicaid, recovering from a physical and psychological trauma. I couldn’t take care of a child. And what untold damage had I done to the tissue undergoing surgery and taking pain medication? I was able to get a reduced cost abortion at 8.5 weeks. I was so relieved afterwards. It was by far the easiest doctor appointment I had to been to in a year of many doctor appointments. If I ever I have lots of money, I mean when I have lots of money, I will donate it to women to reduce the financial costs of an abortion. It was a life changing gift someone gave me.
