style="font-size:15px;"> The next morning they wrote to Dr. Bloch and requested an appointment. Within a week, they received his appointment time. Dr. Bloch sent them a detailed history questionnaire. They were unaccustomed to such personal questions but completed the medical history form and sent it back. The thought of a correctable cause for her inability to conceive buoyed her spirits.
CHAPTER 5
Alfred and Helene’s wedding ceremony took place at the church, and Pastor Braun officiated. They held the reception at a banquet room in the hotel. Helene’s father hired several waitresses to serve at the affair. Some of them worked at the beer hall. Thank God, Frieda is not one of them, thought Werner.
After the party, Ludwig came up to Alfred and congratulated him.
“Well, I did it,” said Alfred.
“I’m not surprised,” said Ludwig. “I knew you would. You always jump before you think. What are you going to do for money? I sure as hell know you do not have much. You will have a dozen kids if I know you. You are young. Wait awhile before you start a family. There’s plenty time.”
“Sure,” said Alfred staring past his father with wide eyes. “Gotta go. I don’t want to be late for my own honeymoon.”
CHAPTER 6
The day before Werner and Brigid’s appointment, they took a train to Munich so they could spend some time with Werner’s sister’s family. The next day when they arrived at Dr. Bloch’s office, a file had already been prepared for them, and they were surprised that the doctor had memorized the details of the histories that Brigid and Werner had prepared.
Dr. Bloch was a middle-aged man with a well-trimmed, gray beard and a hawk-like nose. He was a tall, imposing figure who reminded Werner of Alfred’s friend Reinhard. He radiated the kind of confidence that came with knowing that he is a pioneer in the new science of infertility. He had a closed-mouth smile that never left his face as he listened to his patient. Brigid had never gone through such a detailed set of medical questions relating to her gynecological, menstrual, and sexual history. The doctor also ordered blood and urine tests. Then, to Brigid’s surprise, the doctor performed a complete physical examination, rather than a gynecological one as she had expected. After the exam, Dr. Bloch told them to go into his consultation room where they waited, occupying their time by staring at the diplomas on the walls, some written in Latin and others in German, and noting several pictures of Dr. Bloch and other physicians, all wearing their obligatory white jackets. On one wall was a large bookcase filled with medical books and journals. The desk was bare except for Brigid’s chart, which a nurse had placed in front of Dr. Bloch’s large high-backed chair.
Dr. Bloch arrived after a short time. He had the same closed-mouth smile and started talking even before he sat down. “I believe I have a good idea why you’ve been unable to conceive, Mrs. Stegerwald. I’ll get right to the point, but please don’t hesitate to interrupt me if you have any questions. During the pelvic exam, it was difficult to feel your uterus. Sometimes a woman’s size can interfere with the exam, but, with you being so slim, it should’ve been easy for me to identify between my examining fingers. It should feel like a firm organ about the size of a pear, but in your case, I could barely feel it. Your history was also very revealing. You described your menstrual periods as being very short with very little bleeding. That’s quite unusual. You also reported several missed periods followed by heavy bleeding with cramping. With this information, I can make a diagnosis with a high degree of certainty.”
“What is it, Doctor?
“I believe your problem is a small uterus; the medical term is hypoplastic uterus. It is possible that you have become pregnant several times when you missed your periods, but then each time you had what we call a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage, which caused the increased bleeding and the cramping you felt. In other words, your small uterus couldn’t hold the baby and expelled it at one or two months. I can’t be sure of that, of course, but the history is very typical.”
Struggling to understand Dr. Bloch’s rapid, big word rhetoric, Werner asked, “Can you make a small uterus bigger?”
“No. I wish it were possible, but it isn’t.”
“Are you saying that it’s impossible for a small uterus to grow with the baby?” asked Brigid.
“I’m afraid so. There’s not enough uterine lining for the placenta to attach to, so it can never develop enough to nourish the growing child.”
Brigid slumped in her chair. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying. “So nothing can be done,” she sighed. Then her emotions broke through, and she hunched over and sobbed, her hands over her eyes. Wiping away a tear, she asked, “Why do I have such a small uterus?”
“I wish I could tell you, but perhaps there’s a clue in your family history. You mentioned an aunt who could never conceive.”
“So maybe it runs in my family?”
“We have much to learn, Mrs. Stegerwald. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help. If I were you, I’d see Pastor Braun again. Please give every consideration to adopting a child. There are so many out there who need a good, loving home.”
That’s it, thought Werner. She’ll never get pregnant. Adoption…damn, I don’t know. What’ll the old man say?
“Thank you, Doctor Bloch. We appreciate your thoroughness and honesty,” said Brigid.
Brigid and Werner went back to Werner’s sister’s house deep in their own thoughts. They reported the doctor’s findings. Werner’s sister, Gertrude, looking out her window asked, “Do you see those children playing outside?”
“What about them?” asked Werner.
“Both of you come look,” she said.
“They’re adorable,” said Brigid.
“Which one is adopted?” asked Gertrude.
Werner and Brigid stared out the window.
“It’s the little girl with the long black hair. Isn’t she cute?” asked Gertrude.
Werner stared at the little girl. Brigid held her hands together in front of her chin and smiled over her fingertips. She watched the children at play for several minutes. They spent a quiet, uncomfortable night and went home the following day.
CHAPTER 7
Ludwig, anxious to hear what had transpired at the doctor’s office arrived at Werner’s house the next morning. “What did you find out?” he asked.
“The doctor said that Brigid’s womb is too small. A baby won’t fit. She was born that way. She mighta been pregnant a couple a times, but lost it.”
“I see,” said Ludwig, “Could the doctor offer any hope?”
“No hope,” replied Werner. “He said we should adopt.”
“You two must have had a lot to talk about on the trip home. Have you made any decision?”
“Well, I figured you wouldn’t go for adoption,” said Werner.
Ludwig
