Reconstructive surgery offers hope for granny

I was married at a tender age and got pregnant soon after.

Delivery of my first born child was difficult and after prolonged labour, I had to be rushed for an emergency caesarean section.

The procedure was done at Kisii Hospital and it was a painful, traumatic experience that also led to the loss of my baby.

It was difficult for me to come to terms with what had just happened and it almost made me vow never to give birth again.

Soon after this, I remember things started changing for me. I was no longer able to control my bowel and would wet myself consistently.

I would wake up from my seat and find my clothes all wet as well as the area where I had been seated. Many times the urine would slip through and trickle down my legs. Bedwetting was also a norm.

It became so bad that I stopped taking fluids, to try and reduce urine levels in my body, but this did not work. Because of this, I found that I could not rid myself of this urine stench and I started to isolate myself. I stopped going for family gatherings and also kept away from church.

As though this was not bad enough, all my subsequent child birth experiences were also difficult.

I ended up losing five pregnancies through spontaneous abortion and lost my seventh child a month after birth. I however, did give birth to three children — two sons and a daughter — but ended up losing my son during the 2007/08 post-election violence.

The more I remained isolated, the harder it was for me to deal with all the emotional pain I had inside me. I soon found myself taking chang’aa to try and drown my sorrow, which further compounded my leaking problem. I would engage in this for 10 years until I lost my husband and decided to seek solace in church. While there, I became an active member of the women groups and it was during my engagement in these that I first heard about fistula.

Although I did not fully understand the condition, I identified with its symptoms so when I learnt there would be a free fistula camp at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH), I immediately left my home in Kitale and travelled there.

I underwent screening and the doctors confirmed that I did in fact have obstetric fistula.

That was in September last year.

I was admitted at KTRH for two days where I underwent reconstructive surgery.

While the leakage improved significantly, it did not go away and I opted to stay at my young sister’s home in Nyamira, instead of going back to Kitale, as I awaited my second surgery. In the meantime, I used adult diapers and napkins to keep me dry. I am eternally grateful for the help my sister accorded me all this while.

I finally had the surgery done last month and I am now back to normal. It is such a great feeling to have my bowel control back — no more shame.

Looking back all the those years I have had to live with this condition that has a cure, I remember all the trips I made to hospital and the number of times I was tested for malaria and typhoid.

It is because I lacked someone to tell me what I was ailing from that I have chosen to share my story.

I want to help another woman who like me has endured pain and shame after what should be a natural process.

Many people still associate the death of my children to witchcraft but now I know the truth and can tell the whole world that I was the victim.

Having undergone these two surgeries, I feel like a totally different person. I look forward to leading a normal life with the dignity that is every human being’s right.