VVF

VVF stands for vesicovaginal fisutla and is women have a whole between the bladder and vagina, which results in this women leaking urine all the time. This is typically caused by prolonged labor, usually days, and the result is usually a still birth. On rare occasion, rape can also cause VVF.

This does ever occur in the states, and if it does it is very rare, and the reason for that is because we have health care, c-sections, diagnostic test, etc. This occurs here typically in remote villages where there is little to no health care.

Often times this women become abandoned and their husbands kick them out of the house. The women are usually from remote villages in the northern parts on Benin or surrounding countries and they have travel hundred of miles to make it to the ship Keep in mind these women are very poor and transportation here is nothing like back home. Driving 10 miles can take an hour.

To make the situation more complicated, the surgery does not always fix the problem. Some women require multiple surgeries (which has to happen over many months to years) and even then some women can't be fixed. This is due to many variables, such as the tissue that the surgeon has to work with, the number of fistulas there are , the size of them, etc. Also it can't be just any surgeon the surgeon has to be especially trained in this. So the surgeon has typically had to work in Africa and get trained.

So Mercy Ships is performed 20 surgeries over the past 2 weeks for these women. These women take many weeks to heal and their post operative care is long and involved.

I was not particularly looking forward to caring for them and I thought I wouldn't have to because I am a pediatric nurse. I was wrong. So last night was my first night to work with these women and I was a little nervous because I didn't know how to properly care for them at first. I asked a lot of questions and became comfortable. During the night, I started reading their charts for their medical and social history and my heart became heavy. We ask if these women were left by their husbands, if they had any kids, can they read or write, etc. Most of these women were left by their spouse, most cant read or write and they will probably never have children again. It just broke me inside. The fact that I even take for granted that I educated enough to be able to communicate and I have the ability to learn whatever I want to. Also that I have healthcare where this doesn't happen and it shouldn't have to happen in the year 2009.

I am really glad I ended up with this ward with these women. They have been through more pain then I will ever know. They have been outcasted and they leak urine all the time. Many for decades or more.

I could go on and on but I have to go to work. I will see what tonight brings.