Adosh

It is called the Secret Shame of Africa.  It robs women of their fertility.  They are thrown out of their family homes, scorned by their family and children.  They are forced to become beggars.  No one will hug or love them. 

No one truly knows how many women in Africa are affected by vesico-vaginal fistulas.  This abnormal connection forms between the bladder/urethra and vagina after an especially long labor.  The labor is typically 3 days in length and the baby often does not survive.  These women - often from very rural areas - do not have anyone to help them during labor and once it is discovered that they are having difficulty with the labor, they have unsafe and poor roads to travel to access care.  Once they reach a medical facility - often hours away - there may not be an obstetrical doctor available, and they will be shuttled to the next facility.

After delivery, they are faced with constant leakage of urine - and sometimes stool.  The foul odors constantly follow them and the acidic urine burns their tender skin.  It is not long until their husbands and families say, "Enough."

The lady above is Adosh.  She lives in Pibor, Southern Sudan.  Four years ago, she was pregnant with her second child.  Her first child was delivered easily.  When she went into labor with her second child, she was not afraid.  But then the baby did not come.  For three days, she labored alone in her hut, with only her mother for comfort.  Still the baby did not come.

On the third day, her mother called for Adosh's husband to take her to a medical clinic.  It was many hours away and the road was not very good.  They had to hitch a ride in the back of a transport truck.  The medical clinic was very poor and the doctor there was not trained in obstetrics.  He discovered that Adosh was fully dilated and the baby was low in the vagina.  So he tried to deliver the baby via an antiquated method involved bilateral mediolateral episiotomies that extended from the hymen/vagina down onto the inner thighs. 

Still the baby could not be delivered.  So the medical officer packed a dressing on the wounds, not repairing them, and sent Adosh and her family to the nearest hospital.  The hospital was in Kenya and was also hours away.

When Adosh reached the hospital, a C section was done.  Her baby was dead.  A hysterectomy was done.  I am not sure why; she did not know about the hysterectomy until I told her.

On her third day post-op, she woke up in a pool of urine.  She could not walk well; she was limping because of nerve damage where the baby's head was entrapped in the  pelvis.  That was the beginning of her secret shame.  She leaked urine continuously.  She was cast out of her home and lived off the graciousness of family.  Her firstborne son and husband were ashamed of her stench and leaking. 

Last year, when I met Adosh she told me that she had prayed to God that He would send her a way to restore her health.  She said she knew that God has sent me to her as a fulfillment of that answered prayer.

No pressure, eh?

Last year, our team worked to send Adosh to the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopa.  She had surgery done for her fistula and returned home safely.

Adosh admiring her photo!



Waiting for the transport to Addis - 2010


This year, when I returned to Pibor, Adosh was waiting for me.

She was beautiful!  Her face had a glow that I had never seen on her before.  And she brought her son to meet me - because he is no longer ashamed of her.  Her husband has "restored" her in a house and she is overall doing better.

But she is still leaking some urine.

After three days of trying to get the story from male translators and doing sub-par exams in the blistering heat, I discovered that Adosh appears to still have a small fistula.  Much, much smaller than before, but she still leaks.  So, she will return again to Addis for surgery.

Of all the people I have ever met, Adosh has the most reasons to be depressed and angry.  She has suffered the death of child.  Her uterus was taken from her without her even knowing.  Her family disowned her in a time when she needed them.  She lived in shame and darkness for three years.  She will always walk with a limp because of the nerve injury that occurred.  Yet, even this year she looked at me with a lovely smile and called me her "sister in Christ," and told me that she knows that God did not forget her in that time.

Adosh 2011


There is no word for "love" in Adosh's language.  When I tried to explain to her that I loved her, the translator could not understand.  But Adosh understood.  She said that she knew the thing I wanted to tell her, because I hugged her when no one else would.

Pray for Adosh as she prepares to travel again to Ethiopia; remember the doctors who will be involved in her care.  Pray for her and her family - that their family bonds will continue to be strenthened.  And always, let us pray that God receives all the glory for complete physical and spiritual healing!

For more information on the many girls like Adosh, visit: http://www.fistulafoundation.org/ and learn how you can help change the world, one woman at a time.