FISTULA

By Venter Mwongera
Meet Margerate Kambua with her face full of radiance. She is elderly but elegantly composed to conceal what she has been through for 46 years.

Born 76 years ago in Kitui District, Ms. Kambua became a family person when she was 24 years old. Little did she know what lay ahead of her life’s journey.

As traditions dictated, Kambua was to sire children to ensure continuity of human kind in her community. She delivered four children but unfortunately when she was siring her last born child, she had prolonged labour pains.

Amid delivering, she developed complications which later led to uncontrollable urination, mixing of urine and feaces and eliminating them through her vagina. A condition the doctors call Vesco-Vagina Fistula (VVF).

She said: “During those days, technology was not like today. We used to deliver at home with the help of a traditional birth attendant. There were no theaters to help in case of any complication.”

Kambua said that although her health condition changed, she was deeply pained by the fact that she lost her child during delivery. “I was and I have always been optimistic that my health status would go back to normal. But, how about my baby? Will it resurrect?”

Kambua‘s grand-daughter who has been aiding her to get treatment say, “My grandma is a strong woman though she is lonely. Her friends shunned her when they noticed that she could not control her urine flow and had a filthy smell always.”

The grand-daughter, Ms. Mbithe said that it has been an expensive venture for the family to seek health care for their grandmother.

“We have visited Kitui District Hospital where her first operation was done but it failed. We took her to Jamaa Hospital in Buruburu but the problem could not be rectified until when we learnt about the VVF clinic in Kenyatta.” She said.

Ms Mbithe said that her grandmother has undergone one corrective surgery in KNH in March this year but because of the long period at which the problem has been in the body; the age of Kambua and her health management is some of the factors that are leading to failure of the operation to be effective.

“I am really happy for the Diplomatic Spouses Association and the Flying Doctors for taking care of all the hospital bills for people like me to restore our smiles on our faces. In June last year, I underwent another surgery in VVF Clinic in KNH for free and I can now control my urine flow.” Ms. Kambua said amid tears of joy.

Ms. Elizabeth Kanuthu knows vividly what it means to have Vasico-Vagina Fistula.
The mother of 2 children is now jubilantly narrating how her life was full of misery one and half years ago. But now, she says, “Life is now worth living.”

At a young age of 34, when she was giving birth to her second born, she was delivering in a hospital in Nyandarua District, South Kinangop where she hails from.

He said, “I labored for more than 24 hours. During my pregnancy period, I attended all the anti natal checkups and the doctor who was attending to me always said that the baby that I was carrying was too big.”

Ms. Kinuthu said that there was no point to deliver through caesarean section since she delivered her first child normally.

Lack of good hospitals with all the equipments and poverty are some of the factors that Kinuthu attributes to what accelerated to Vesco-Vagina Fistula.

“I run a simple grocery that guarantee food on the table for my family and my husband is in Jua kali industry. We could not afford money to get better medical attention in private hospitals.” Ms. Kinuthu said.

The mother of two said that many are the afflictions she got from friends and the people she thought she would count on incase of any problem. “When my friends learnt that I had VVF, they all turned against me and the news spread like wild fire. They used to call me a ‘dirty woman’ who is a pig.”

Ms. Kinuthu is one of the beneficiaries of Vesico Vagina Fistula clinic based in KHN. She had a corrective surgery done in March 2010 for free and now she is fully healed.

She called on all women to come out in large numbers to the KNH VVF clinic to enjoy free life saving services she has enjoyed and start enjoying life like other healthy women.

According to Dr. Isika A. K, a registrar in Kenyatta National Hospital Vesico Vagina Fistula clinic, there are many women who are facing this problem and the numbers are increasing on daily basis.

She further said that poverty and delivering at an early age of between 17- 21years is a key contributor because at an early age; the pelvis is too small to deliver the baby. Hence this can lead to a tear of the bladder due to much pressure put on it.

Dr. Isika said: “If the patient develops obstructed labour during birth and there is no qualified healthcare personnel during this period, this can lead to much pressure on the cervical which can create a ‘whole’ or abnormal connection between the urinary bladder and the vagina. This condition is called VVF.”