That it hurt, despite the anesthetic,
which they administered with a long needle, shot straight into the womb.
That they hit the vagus nerve the first time and I fell down when I tried to stand.
That after the second shot my legs snapped shut—
instinctively as any wild mother protecting chick, kit, cub.
That I held the hand of a young Hispanic nurse and wept
when she said, “You know, hon, you don’t have to do this.”
That I believed I did, though I nearly got up and left.
That the doctor was crude, saying (when he saw me conscious),
“It’s always the ones who want to be awake who should be put out.”
which they administered with a long needle, shot straight into the womb.
That they hit the vagus nerve the first time and I fell down when I tried to stand.
That after the second shot my legs snapped shut—
instinctively as any wild mother protecting chick, kit, cub.
That I held the hand of a young Hispanic nurse and wept
when she said, “You know, hon, you don’t have to do this.”
That I believed I did, though I nearly got up and left.
That the doctor was crude, saying (when he saw me conscious),
“It’s always the ones who want to be awake who should be put out.”
