The young woman who came to our Bakersfield health center recently was anxious about more than COVID-19. She’d been in pain for more than a year because of problems she was having with her IUD. She had been to health care providers in other locations, but none had been able to help her.
Now she was worried she might not ever be able to become pregnant when she wanted to be. She booked an appointment with our clinician, Janessa, even though she was afraid to leave her home during the pandemic.
“I could see right away the emotions that had built up for this patient because she was so frustrated that no one could safely remove her IUD and stop the pain,” Janessa said. “When I was able to successfully remove it for her, she began crying right on the table. She was so relieved, so thankful that we could help her even in a time like this.”
Later that day, the patient sent Janessa a vase of flowers.
“There were sunflowers in the bouquet,” Janessa said. “They made me think of how really happy we can make people by just taking care of them when they need it.”