Ai had been feeling swelling in her breasts for two weeks when milk first began appearing, leaking from her breasts from time to time, espicially when babies were around. Her first thought was that she was pregnant, wich scared her a lot. She wasn’t ready for a third baby, and neither was her husband. Or even their home, it was just too small.
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Taking a pregnancy test revealed her fears to be true : positive. She discussed with her husband what they should do, and came to the conclusion that she needed an abortion. So, she went to the doctor to discuss her options. However, when she arrived, the waiting room was full, full of women from ages 20-40. After a while, the doctor came out of his room. In a stern voice, he claimed :
“None of you are pregnant, if you’re all here to talk about the swelling, i would suggest you go to the ER without delay. I don’t know why this keeps happening, but most of the ladies here today have had hormonal inbalance for weeks. You need to go and get your blood drawn.”
That sentence concerned Ai a little, as she understood she was part of the group. Of course, hormonal inbalance made sense, as she had been incredibly horny for as long as she’d been having these symptoms. Her husband enjoyed it, as he could finnally have his way whenever he wanted, but the thought of being seriously sick scared her even more than pregnancy.
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When she finally arrived to the ER, the same scene repeated. Dozens of women from her neighborhoods, all with their husbands or families, worried and quite frankly, annoyed by the wait times. Ai began panting and feeling tired when she entered the crowd. The wait time was long and exhausting. Seeing the EMTs bring in some wounded from time to time, deeper into the emergency room, to get surgery. Her name was finnally called on the intercom, she entered the exam room with a nurse inside, her head full of worries.
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The nurse spoke in a calming tone.
“AI, is that right ? I see you’re here for the same reasons as many of our patients today. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this.
-thank you, sir. I’ve been having these symptoms for a few weeks now. My breasts are swollen, i’m lactating.. and my libido has skyrocketed.
-yes, we understand that. We’ll get your blood sample here and the results should be here in an hour.
-what’s to be expected ?
-we don’t know for sure. We think there may be something, an environemental factor pumping estrogen levels up. What we don’t know however, is why prolactin is here. Normally, that happens after childbirth. But clearly, no one here was pregnant.”
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The nurse inserted a needle in her skin, wich had become softer. her arms had grown in diameter a little because she had gained weight. Or rather, reached a regular weight from being so skinny. Ai then waited as her blood was drawn by the nurse, who she couldn’t help but fantasize a little about. She stopped her daydreaming and waited for the results.
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The same nurse came back with a sheet of paper, quickly explaining that the numbers weren’t surprising. He then went on telling her that to reduce her estrogen levels, she could try to stop alcohol, excercise more… He then mentionned that her estrogen levels were so high she was at risk for cancer, wich addmiteddly scared her even more.
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Back home, After googling her symptoms, she found out about an ad for a treatment center for people who shared the same problem The ad stated :
“Having hormonal problems recently ? You may be suffering from a drug resistant parasite present in water systems. Please, contact us for removal and treatment.”
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A week later, she couldn’t take it anymore. Half of the neighbors had already left for the treatment, and she constantly fought with her husband, but couldn’t do much anymore. She was lying on the couch, drooling a little. She had stopped eating meat and turned to a vegetarian diet. After another fight with her husband, she decided to leave.
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Quickly after calling the number, a white van appeared to her doorstep. After waving goodbye to her son, daughter and husband wich she couldn’t stand anymore, she got in and fell asleep during the ride, only to wake up in a hospital room, with barred windows. A leaflet on the table read “thank you for choosing white home pharmacieuticals ! You have been transported to a terminal care facility. If you have any questions, our staff is dedicated to helping you. In the meantime, don’t forget to take your medication if there is any.
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And there was. A small packet of pills. She took one in hopes of curing herself. She didn’t know yet, but this was a sign her resilience was strongly affected. Normally, she wouldn’t even have come here, but now she even took pills without a thought.
She laid on the bed until a man in a white coat opened the door. Read more »