meteorshowersaftermidnight submitted:

I am a first generation American and first generation college student. Because of financial aid I am able to stay in school and therefor be on my university’s health plan. While exploring my options for birth control I was asked by my doctor to take a pregnancy test for safe measure before I started on any anti contraceptives.

This pregnancy test revealed that I had a high amount of protein in my urine which is a red flag for kidney problems. Many tests later it is revealed that my kidneys are in fact not healthy and the tissue is not in the shape it should be, luckily we have caught it early before it became kidney disease.

I am twenty years old. Twenty. If it weren’t for birth control I would not know about this condition and I would be well on my way to an early death.

If I hadn’t gone to my the health center I would have gone to a planned parenthood clinic and we would have caught it there. Either way exploring my options for women’s health saved my life.