When I told
people I was the OR VVF team leader, I would get blank stares. “What is VVF?” they would ask. I would respond with a vague “it’s a fistula
caused by childbirth” because, really, I had no idea either. That was until I found myself standing in the
ward surrounded by women who had these fistulas.
Here’s what I
learned over the past month about VVF:
1-
VVF
stands for vesico-vaginal fistula which is a hole between the bladder &
vagina & is only one type of fistula, there’s also vesico-uterine (a hole
between the bladder & uterus), urethro-vaginal fistula (a hole between the
urethra & vagina) & recto-vaginal fistula (a hole between the rectum
& vagina). The fistulas cause them
to be incontinent of urine & feces.
2-
It’s
a symptom of poverty caused by lack of education & availability of
healthcare
3-
VVFs
are caused by obstructed labor, the women can spend days in labor, often
times going to 2 or 3 hospitals or clinics before they find one that would accept them either because they can’t pay
or the clinic has no operating room for a c-section. When they are able to deliver, the baby is
dead & the mother is left in ruin. Fistulas
are totally preventable by having access to healthcare & have been
eradicated in the Developed world because of the availability of c-sections.
4-
Other
complications of obstructed labor include: foot drop, nerve injury,
infertility, skin breakdown, kidney disease, prolaspe & maternal death.
5-
The social
ramifications are astounding, the women are often out casted because they are wet
& smell. Their husbands leave them
because they can’t produce live children any more.
6-
Its
not always the young girls (under 17) having babies at a higher risk, most
fistulas happen to women of normal child-bearing age. Its also not always the first baby that
causes the problems, the 5th, 6th, etc can be the
culprit.
Working with
these women & hearing their stories of pain & suffering & yet
seeing their smiles, tears, & laughter has shown me a new understanding to
the human spirit. I love coming down to
the ward & sitting with the women when they are on bed rest after their
surgery, or joining the “VVF conga line” in the hallway, as the ladies go on
their daily walks, singing & dancing as they go. 
At the end of
their time with us, we have a special dress ceremony for them. It represents their new life, healed & ready to continue with their lives after many, many years of being outcasts. They are given a new
dress, jewelry, & their nails & make up done. We gather on the ward, singing, dancing,
laughing & crying, we go through all the emotions. These beautiful women stand
up & give their testimonies, their stuggles, their hope & their
thanks. We give gifts of soap (to remind
them that they are washed new in Christ’s blood), a mirror (to show their
beauty), a cross necklace & a Bible.
The ladies are able to leave & start their new life.
The women on the ward are
so unbelievably strong.
Blessings
