Last Tuesday I woke up around 9 o’clock in the morning. I said good morning to my husband and then I went into the bathroom to take a shower with a special anti-bacterial soap. I dressed in a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. Around 10:45am Seth and I headed out to meet my mom at Grant Medical Center downtown. I was checked in and brought to a room where I changed into a surgical gown and socks. I waited here with my mom and Seth keeping me company until my doctor was ready. I was wheeled to surgery around 3:45pm and was in recovery around 5pm. I was in a room around 6pm and I was released around midnight to go home with my husband. We stopped at Taco Bell on the way home because I hadn’t eaten anything but crackers since around 7:30 Monday night. We ate dinner and went to bed and I no longer had any fallopian tubes.
The official name of the surgery is Laparoscopic Salpingectomy. They made three small incisions: one on each side of my lower belly and one in my belly button. Then they removed my tubes completely. It is more efficient and safer than having the tubes tied or cauterized and there is no chance of ectopic pregnancy or pregnancy at all.
When Roe v. Wade was overthrown by the Supreme Court I was sent into a mild panic. As a woman who has never wanted to have children and who typically utilizes the kinds of long term birth control that is also being called into question I immediately felt like some kind of permanent solution had to be found for me. I had been trying to get my tubes tied since I was in my twenties and was consistently told no. But, last year my sister who was 29 got approved for her tube removal, so I called her gynecologists’ office to make an appointment there.
Dr. Williford walked in and said, you want to get your tubes removed. I confirmed I did. She said okay, let’s get you scheduled for surgery. I literally almost cried. It was that simple. I went in with a list of reasons, my husbands permission, etc. And she tells me that their office “believes women should be able to do whatever they want with their tubes.”
Now here I am, a week of healing behind me. I will have some tiny scar on my belly that will be barely noticeable amongst the stretch marks already marking that skin. I cannot get pregnant anymore. I am breathing easier than I have since the day of the Supreme Courts action. Now I need to work to help others who aren’t as lucky as me. I am looking at volunteering for Planned Parenthood. I am donating to the Ohio Abortion Fund. I am voting in my best interests. This is my weapon of choice, choosing what is best for me, my friends, my sisters, my niblings, and our world.
Betsy Snow White Bibliophile 