ANOTHER SHOCKER!

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Aunty Meg first gave him a mischievous look and smiled. “Ah, doctor, you won’t change,” she retorted. “This is my sister, Anita.” She turned to me, “Anita, this is Doctor Bambi.”

Yes! That was the name, Bambi. I remember wondering what kind of name was Bambi. But where exactly did I meet this man? I kept wracking my brain hard.

“How are you dear? You look so very pretty,” the man said to me.

“Thank you, sir,” I replied. “I’m pleased to meet you.

“I am more pleased to meet you, my dear,” he said as he held my hand warmly for a hand shake. “Then he looked closely at my face. “Your face, it looks like a face I’m not seeing for the first time,” he said.

I smiled a little nervously. “Are you sure? I don’t think I have seen your face before though,” I returned, looking slightly away from his gaze and I couldn’t understand why I was feeling somewhat nervous.

“Doctor Bambi, you have come again o, I know you’re only looking for a way to toast my sister, her face is not familiar to you at all,” Aunty Meg threw at him.

“But, seriously, I’m not joking, I think she’s somebody I’ve met before but I can’t just quite remember where,” Doctor Bambi insisted.

There was an awkward moment of silence. “Anyway, na you sabi, doctor, that is not why we’re here,” Aunty Meg’s voice broke the awkward silence.

“Okay, if you insist, so, what can I do for you pretty ladies?” Doctor Bambi returned his attention to the work at hand.

“My sister has a little issue,” Aunty Meg cleared her throat as she began to speak. “She is pregnant but she doesn’t want the pregnancy now, so I brought her here so you can help do a D&C for her. A clean one without complications or anything.”

The doctor looked at me closely without saying a word. It was as though he was mentally undressing me or something. Or was he still trying to remember where he knew me, just as I’ve also been trying to remember too?

Then, he turned to Aunty Meg and dropped the bombshell. “Ah, my baby, I wish I could be of help but the thing is that I don’t do D&Cs anymore!”

Aunty Meg and I were speechless. What was this man talking about? We both threw a shocked look at each other, with our mouths half open. What was this man talking about?

“Doctor Bambi, what are you talking about? What do you mean you no longer do D&C”, Aunty Meg was the first to speak.

“Exactly what you heard, my dear,“ the man answered with a funny looking smile on his face. “The medical association has been very critical about our activities, especially as it concerns administering D&C. We believe that offering D&C services has contributed to the immoral and reckless lifestyle of our young ladies. They engage in unprotected sex and are confident that once they get pregnant there are doctors out there who are willing to evacuate the pregnancies from their womb because they have the money to pay. And to make matters even worse, there are a lot of quack doctors out there who have ruined the lives of these girls by performing D*Cs that have left them with fatal damages to their wombs. Some will never be able to have children again. They will never be able to get pregnant again. Those who may be lucky to still get pregnant, their womb may never be able to carry the pregnancy. Some of them would have to spend an awful lot of money on their medical situation before they can conceive and carry their babies in their womb for nine months and then put to bed. Even the government was beginning to frown at our activities, especially as we were not able to check the activities of the quacks among us and this was also leading to the deaths of some of these young girls. So, we decided that all of that has to stop. The few D&Cs I do now are the ones that involve couples. Sometimes, for personal or medical reasons, couples can decide to abort a pregnancy and we give them what they want. In your own case now, you are not here with your husband……”

“But doctor, she married too,” Aunty Meg threw in to make a case for me.

“Is she?” the man retorted, looking at me with obvious disbelief on his face. He certainly looked like he didn’t believe Aunty Meg one bit. “So, where is her husband?” he asked.

“He can’t come, doctor.” Aunty Meg answered.

“Why?” he asked, his gaze still fixed at my face as though he could find the answers to his questions there.

“Because her husband is not around,” Aunty Meg replied.

“And so she wants to abort his pregnancy behind his back?” Doctor Bambi said, a cynical smile on his face.

“No, doctor, she…she…” Aunty Meg was stuttering, she didn’t know how best to respond to his question. It was time I spoke for myself.

“My husband doesn’t know about the pregnancy!”, I interjected, taking over from Aunty Meg who was already running out of answers to give Doctor Bambi.

“Ah, finally you’re talking,” the man threw at me. “So, why is he not aware? Why don’t you want to tell him?”

“Because I don’t want to have another baby now!” I shot at him. “My son, Junior is still very young and I need time to concentrate on my job. If my husband knows I’m pregnant, he will want me to keep the baby and that’s not what I want right now! So, will you do the D&C for me or not?

I was really apprehensive. Why was this man behaving like this? Is it not my money that I will pay? I don’t understand what the problem is with all these doctors?

“Listen my dear, you don’t need to get agitated, these things are no longer the way they used to be,” the man said. “A lot has happened lately and the government and our medical association have taken it upon themselves to damp down on any medical hospital that undertakes any abortion that goes bad, especially the one that takes the life of the patient.”

I looked at Aunty Meg. She was as confused as I was.

“Aunty, say something now,” I said to her, urging her to speak.

“But doctor, this her own case is obviously one that is safe enough,” she said to him. “She is not in any bad condition presently, so how can anything possibly go wrong with the D&C?”

The doctor gave a heavy sigh.

“Okay, first, let me even examine you,” he motioned to me to get on the small stretcher bad behind him.

“How many weeks did you say the pregnancy is?” he asked.

“It shouldn’t be more than six weeks or thereabout,” I replied, climbing on the bed.

He examined me. I preferred the way he was touching me, compared to that other stupid doctor. He was by far more professional, touching me without acting funny.

“It’s a little over six weeks, I am sure,” he said as I got down from the bed.

“Okay, I will do it,” he finally said. “ I will give you an appointment for this week Friday.”

I heaved a sigh of relief.”

Finally, I would be able to evacuate this stubborn baby that does not want to go away.

“So, how much will I pay for your services, sir?” I inquired.

“Your bill is N20,000 and you pay in full before I start anything!” he’d thrown at me.

I nearly fainted!

To be continued….