1997 - Medical Clinic (East side of North York General Hospital, Toronto)
First child, large baby, difficult birth, forceps, episiotomy that tore, stiches. I didn't heal well.
At some point... six weeks after delivery(?), my family doctor set me up for an appointment with a special doctor (OBGYN?, Gynecologist? I'll call him Dr Creepy). so they could cauterized my episiotomy & tear that wasn't healed yet. I told my family Doctor that the procedure sounded painful. He said the Dr Creepy would give me something for the pain.
When I showed up, Dr Creepy wasn't going to give me the numbing gel. He said he'd be quick and I wouldn't need it. I wanted the numbing gel, but accepted none as that was the way things were going. I accepted none because I was breastfeeding so there would be some benefit to having none.
Well, having your most intimate and injured private parts cauterized with no pain killers is not a good idea.
I SCREAMED, my mom & baby in the waiting room heard me.
It was quick, but tears came out of my eyes. Tissue was put on the wound and I was told to sit up on the exam table.
I sat up, hung my legs over the side of the table, but leaned to one side.
Dr Creepy advised me to sit on the wound side to help tissue do its job.
The room I was in was big, and the doctor went to his desk to get Kleenex for my tears. The normal sized doctor, with normal sized arms, handed me the box of Kleenex and decided to lean on my legs that were hanging over the side of the examination table that I was on to hand the box to me. I felt his "hard on" press into my legs. I have not suffered abuse in my past so I wasn't upset. I just thought OH MY G*D, what a moron.
I didn't tell my mom, but since she had heard my screams, she mentioned to me that she had visited this doctor 15 years earlier and he had subtly said something rude to her about her procedure.
Later I did a check up with my family doctor, I wasn't 100% healed, he said I needed another treatment, I said NO. He looked at my wound and said he could do it because it was a smaller wound now, so I said yes and strongly demanded the numbing gel. He thought I was over reacting. And made a subtle comment years later about how sensitive to pain I was.
I was so busy healing and caring for my baby, I didn't make any complaint formal or informal to either doctor on Dr Creepy. I didn't know I could or how. I wondered about Dr Creepy's secretary, does she hear these screams often, what did she think?
OK, now I never want to see this creepy doctor again.
Fast forward a few years, I have my second baby, same hospital, very quick, my doctor didn't get to the hospital in time (I don't think he tried, as my first born was difficult), I heard the nurses in the maternity ward say Dr Creepy was busy doing a C-section so I got a third choice on call doctor for my delivery.
Second child came quick, no drugs, I tore (probably because of all the scar tissue from the first delivery). After the baby was born, the other two doctors show up. My family doctor and Dr Creepy. Dr Creepy sewed me up under the supervision of my family doctor and the delivery doctor and my husband and who ever else walked in and out of the room. Dr Creepy sewed me up just fine, no complaints about that.
I was kind of grateful at this point that I hadn't made any kind of complaint on Dr Creepy. I wouldn't really have trusted him to sew me up properly if I had complained AND if the other two doctors weren't present. (I had seen a documentary about doctors sewing women up too tight)
I was never upset, I just wonder how many other women he mistreated.
He'd be dead by now. Saw a FRIENDS TV show episode where Rachel mentions a creepy doctor leaning on her legs, I though wow, this is pretty wide spread.
Did you provide feedback about your experience?: NO, and thankfully no, as mentioned in my story.
Submitted anonymously
