The Examination

Before I begin this post I must preface the definition of what is a CODA and what are they used for? Simply, a coda underlines how a character has changed and what they have learned as a result of the experience they went through usually something life altering.

---------------

As she sits in the waiting room, she notices the slightly peeling wallpaper, the couches that have been sat in too many times. She notices the receptionists who all could be sisters, typing away and answering calls like it’s just another ordinary day. But to her, this is the day that everything changes. 

She’s finishing up her fall semester and today is her final exam, Advanced Chemistry, the hardest class she’s ever taken. She should be focusing on studying for the answers on that exam, but right now she needs an answer to something else.

The nurse calls her name and she stands up, practically sweating. The nurse smiles and asks about her day and all she can really do is smile - cheesy and hollow - back. The nurse takes her blood pressure and weight before packing her into a small room like an animal and asks her to undress from the waist down. She timidly goes into the bathroom and changes, but can’t help but look at herself in the mirror. When she looks back again at this reflection shortly, will she happy with what is staring back at her? She quickly and quietly gets onto the exam table and stares at the ceiling, butterflies in a field, wishing she was there instead of here.

Those damn butterflies mock her.   

Soon there’s a knock and the doctor comes in. They greet each other sparingly as the doctor comes around and puts her legs in the stirrups before grabbing some lube from the counter. The doctor’s primitive, awkward, and somewhat obscene questions before beginning the exam; that range anywhere from, “What seems to be the problem today?” to “How many partners have you been with since your last visit?” The girl says she’s been in pain for the last few days, and this morning she looked and saw sores “down there” and immediately began to freak out. The doctor grabs a swab and rubs the affected area and it takes everything in the girl’s power not to lunge at the doctor for the amount of pain that just coursed through her body.

The doctor puts the swab in a baggy, just like the ones you see on T.V. at an autopsy. The doctor then removes her legs from the stirrups and sighs. The pause. She finally speaks, “I can within certainty say that this is genital herpes.”

The room suddenly feels much smaller. The girl begins to sob. The weight feels heavy as the doctor grabs the girl’s shoulder and hands her a tissue, trying, with little effort, to actually engage with her. The doctor continues, through the girl’s sobs, to explain medication options and treatment plans, but it’s all babble to the girl. 

Later on, she will learn herpes type 1 causes sores around the mouth and lips (sometimes called fever blisters or cold sores). HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but most cases of genital herpes are caused by type 2. In HSV-2, the infected person may have sores around the genitals or rectum. During the explanation of the diagnosis, the doctor makes it very clear that both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be spread even if sores are not present near or around the affected area.

But one thought will keep arising above all else: how does this affect the future of her becoming a mother? As the doctor elaborates, she learns a cesarian section is highly recommended for woman who have genital herpes and have a higher risk of outbreaks due to the influx of hormones during pregnancy. Women taking antiviral drugs for herpes -- either daily suppressive therapy or occasional therapy for outbreaks; for those who want to suppress an outbreak can take antiviral (Acyclovir) medication daily to hold HSV symptoms and outbreaks at bay. For the occasional outbreak, Episodic Therapy has best results when treatment begins at the first sign of sores; which offers a way to manage outbreaks by cutting the duration nearly in half.

At this point she’s no longer thinking about her exam. She’s thinking about her boyfriend, her mother, her family, her friends, her classmates, her roommates, her coworkers, her customers, her neighbors -- and how this will forever change how they perceive her. She will no longer be seen as an adventurous, outgoing, aspiring girl from a small town, but rather as a disgusting monster who can’t keep her damn legs closed.