A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck parts of the east coast on Friday. I was safe in my apartment and wondering whether the violent rocking in my building was because my neighbor was running his washing machine or whether the faulty pipes in my building were finally going to burst spectacularly.
But Pennsylvania stay-at-home dad Justin Allen was probably the very last place you’d want to be during an earthquake. He was laid on an examining bed with a doctor’s hands and sharp objects cutting his testicles.
About an hour after Allen left the clinic and ran to the pharmacy, he called WIRED to talk about the absurd timing of his vasectomy.
Makenna Kelly: Okay. First of all, are you all well?
Justin Allen: I am good. Just reached home. Starting to relax now.
Were you nervous before the process even started?
I already have white coat hypertension. So when I went in my blood pressure was already very high and I was definitely nervous. The doctor walked me through it step by step, which made the whole thing feel calming, but I’m always nervous about things like this.
At what stage of the process did this occur?
We were probably about halfway there. Originally, the process began around 10:10 am (AM ET) and the earthquake occurred at 10:24 or 10:25 am.
Can you paint a picture for me of what that table was like?
I am lying there. He’s in the middle of whatever needs to be done there and the whole building starts shaking. I wasn’t sure what was happening. It definitely felt like an earthquake, but we don’t usually have that. I didn’t know if there was a train nearby or something else that would cause the building to shake.
And then the doctor said, “Oh my God. It’s an earthquake.” I thought he was messing with me. I thought it was just him trying to be funny. But as that was happening, the desk staff outside the room started yelling about the earthquake and I said, “Oh , Wow this is really happening.” And the doctor puts the equipment down and asks, “How long do tremors usually last?” And the nurse said, “I think about a minute or two.” So we stopped and waited, and as soon as it was done, it started again.
So as soon as the shock occurred it stopped?
I think so too. Whatever step he was taking at that very moment was nearing its end. But he put the instruments down for a moment to recalibrate.
And how were you feeling at that moment?
We were laughing about it, because we had never actually experienced it. Therefore it did not seem like a dangerous earthquake. It was just a kind of thunder. And then the doctor, the nurse and I were all joking about how we would never forget where we were at this point. This whole story will haunt me for the rest of my life. That I had a vasectomy and the earthquake happened and I’m not living in California or anything like that. On the East Coast, that just doesn’t happen. It was definitely a surprise.
