Let’s go back in time. It was June 2008, I had recently moved from Jerusalem to Haifa, and it was time for my visit to every female’s favorite doctor. I asked friends for recommendations and made an appointment.

Here is an excerpt of the conversation that transpired as part of the checkup:

Dr.: Do you have regular periods?

Me: Like clockwork.

Dr.: Are they painful?

Me: Not particularly.

Dr.: Based on my exam and your blood tests, I think that you have endometriosis. Take the pill and come back in six months.

Me: Endometri-WHAT? (well not exactly, I had heard of it before but did not know much and certainly had some questions).

Dr.: You should Google it to find out more.

Did my Doctor tell me to Google my condition for more information? Google, a hypochondriac’s playground! For kicks, let’s try Googling the following search term: “pain in pinky.”  There you have it, arthritis – who knew that medicine was this simple?! My doctor could have suggested a particular site (in 2011 a new organization was founded that helps woman with this condition).

Maybe he thought that I would not understand his explanation in Hebrew; though we had been doing fine up until this point. Perhaps, he felt that taking the time to properly explain the disease would have put him further behind schedule – I played many games of hearts as I patiently waited for my appointment.

I wish I could tell you that I gave this doctor a piece of my mind and told him that I deserved just a bit more of his time and certainly better care. Of course that would be a lie, but in all future references in this blog – yes I continued to see him- he will be known as “Dr. Google.”

Unsure about the medical advice I had just received, I spoke to a friend. Luckily, she had a copy of  the book Our Bodies Ourselves (it’s not just for prepubescent females anymore). Taking the pill and monitoring the situation seems to have been just about right.

*********************************************************************

While I wrote this post a couple of days ago, tonight I cannot help but express my sorrow about Friday’s events in Connecticut.  It goes without saying that as I am trying to create a new life, the tragic and meaningless death of so many people is heartbreaking.