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Lydia bit her tongue to stop tears welling in her eyes. She already felt a thousand times better just from this brief interaction with Elise. “I’ve always had heavy periods and bad cramping. Roughly three years ago, it all got worse. The pain was and still is so bad I usually vomit.”

“Is that throughout the entire time you bleed?”

“No, just the first three or four days, usually. But even before the pain, I know when I’m going to begin my period. I can set my watch by my hormones. A week before, I gain an insatiable appetite. No matter what I eat, it’s never enough. Then my mood sours. I feel so low, like nothing in my life is good.” Lydia couldn’t hold back the waterworks any longer. “I-I’m sorry,” she spluttered. Just what the doctor wanted, a snotty hysterical woman in her chair.

Lydia heard the scraping of chair legs on the carpet. A warm arm slid over her shoulders. “It’s alright, Lydia, let it out.”

Five minutes later, Lydia finally ran out of tears. “Sorry, I’m okay now,” she mumbled, her head dipped in embarrassment.

“Please don’t apologise. You’ve had a lot to contend with.” Elise gave Lydia’s shoulder a quick squeeze before returning to her desk chair.

“As soon as I bleed, it’s like the clouds part and my mood gets better,” Lydia continued. “But then I have the heavy flow and the pain. My face erupts with spots, too.”

“Do you remember the medication your previous doctor prescribed?” Lydia listed them off easily. “And did any of them have a significant impact on your symptoms?”

“They only gave me side effects. Headaches, more nausea and prolonged bleeding.”

“And you relayed this to your GP?”

“Absolutely.”

“Hmm.” Lydia noted the furrowed eyebrows. What did it mean? “I’m utterly shocked you haven’t been referred to a specialist. No person should have gone through this for so long. I want to get an ultrasound done today and schedule you to have your hormone levels tested. Is that okay?”

“Yes!” Lydia could have done a jaunty dance right there and then. It was happening. She was getting help!

“Excellent. Pop behind the curtain and slip into the gown. I’ll get the machine ready.”

Not wasting a second, Lydia skittered around the medical curtain, stripping herself off. “I’m ready,” she called.

“Great, hop onto the exam table and open your legs, letting your knees fall to the sides.”

Usually, this sort of thing would feel mortifying, but not today. Lydia would show her hoo-ha to the entire hospital if it meant she got some answers. “Oh, that’s cold.” The gel Elise spread on her abdomen sent chills up her spine.

“Sorry. Now, once I’ve done an external ultrasound, I’ll do an internal one, too. Is that okay?” Lydia nodded. The room fell silent except for the odd clicking of buttons on the ultrasound machine.

“Can you see anything out of the ordinary?”

“Not conclusively. Lydia, I want to schedule you for an endometriosis test. The only way to diagnose endometriosis with confidence is through laparoscopic surgery.”

“Okay, yes, let’s do that.”

“Halle told me you are a private patient.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Okay, in that case, I can schedule an appointment relatively quickly. I’ll need to check my calendar, but I think we should be able to get the test done within the month.”

“Really? That quick?”

“Yes, really. You will need to meet with an anaesthesiologist a week prior. And as long as your blood work is good, we will proceed.”

“Oh, Dr. Maynard, thank you.” If she wasn’t in such a compromising position, Lydia would have hugged her.

“It’s Elise, remember. Halle is a good friend, and she cares a lot about you.” That was news to Lydia. Sure, Halle was caring, but did she care for Lydia? “We’ll sort this out. In the meantime, you’ll need to stick to painkillers and hot water bottles.”

“That’s fine. I can deal with that, knowing I’m finally going to get some answers.”

“Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll look at my schedule.”