Dear Doctor,

This year was the first time I ever had to seek your care. Until now, I have only had asymptomatic fibroids and have had my well-woman care handled by your certified nurse midwives. When my fibroids went over the edge and I ended up weak and short of breath from the blood loss, you and I met for the first time to review my ultrasound results. Because I have lived through this once with my mother already, I was nervous and figured we would immediately be discussing surgery.

Thank you for taking the time to ask me how this affects my life, and for making me assess my own symptoms. Could I live with the knowledge that I had fibroids if I could get my bleeding down to a manageable level --this was the question you asked. Although your recommended treatment of birth control pills really didn't work out for me, I appreciate your reluctance to operate. Thank you for looking at me kindly, right in the eye and saying, "I'm really sorry you've had to suffer with all this."

When I called you to ask about UFE, thank you for:

• being honest and telling me you didn't know a lot about it.
• allowing me to explain the statistics and concerns to you in a way that felt like peer to peer communication
• allowing me to ask you to perform an endometrial biopsy and hysteroscopy as reassurance before I scheduled an IR consult

On the day of the D&C to obtain the biopsy and do the hysteroscopy, thanks again for just being compassionate, and not dismissive of my (and my husband's) anxiety about the procedure. You didn't laugh, or brush us off, or act aloof. You just communicated your compassion with a warm smile. Many years ago, you helped a friend of mine when she gave birth to a severely deformed child. She had wonderful things to say about you. Now I can see that you're a man for all seasons.

Wish there could be more like you.

Joanne