The video clip “A Walk to Beautiful” was a powerfully moving depiction of several Ethiopian women’s journey from outcast to acceptable. Fistula is a hole between the bladder and the vaginal wall resulting in incontinence. Sometimes there is a double fistula condition where there is a hole between the rectum and vaginal wall causing loss of feces and urine. Dr. Catherine Hamlin, co-founder of Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital since 1959 explains that she and her husband started the hospital when they became aware of the heartbreaking stories of young girls, some as young as 10 years old whose pelvic region became damaged during week long labor trying to birth a child too large for their small pelvic girdle. The contractions pushed the baby’s head downward compressing the soft tissue and cutting off blood supply to the surrounding organs such as the bladder. This 7-10 day labor wound inevitably result in the baby dying and being “pulled out”. This pulling out of the baby, in addition to extended labor, left tears that did not heal leaving the young girl with a condition known as fistula.
When these girls return to their village with their incontinence problem, they were outcast by their husband and others. In watching the story of one such outcast is Ayehu from a village Gojam. Ayehu has suffered with fistula for 6 years and now at 25 years old we follow her on her own 17 hour “Walk to Beautiful” pilgrimage from Gojam to Addis Ababa. From the 6 hour walk from Gojam to the road, she endures the social embarrassment of constantly leaking while walking or on the long bus ride to the city. When she arrives at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital she is amazed to discover how many women have this same problem, and finds comfort in sharing her story and hearing similar stories from other “outcasts”. Ayehu is examined and found to have a relatively small hole so her prognosis is very positive for a normal life following surgical repair. Others are not so fortunate. Sometimes the damage done to the bladder is too great and the fix does not solve the problem of incontinence. The bladder may be too small, and the best solution that can be offered is to do the so-called “Kegle exercises” to strengthen pelvic muscles as a means to control leakage. At least following the fistula repair surgery, the urine is now exiting the bladder through its normal route, and not the hole.
Watching Ayehu return to her village, her home and her child and be now accepted back was a moment of mixed emotions. While I rejoiced that Ayehu now is back in her family’s good graces, when I consider the thousands of discarded women, I am appalled that loved ones would disown them in the first place. Putting myself in their place of a former fistula sufferer, I am not so sure that I would be able to resume such a fractured relationship with my family and friends. At least not until I first dealt with this emotional issue of how could they throw me away just like a broken doll.
This movie opened my eyes to the huge need of so many women. In Ethiopia it is estimated that there are 100,000 Ethiopian women who need this surgical repair. Such a relatively minor repair…such a huge difference, like being brought back from the dead. I appreciated that this hospital goes a step further in the healing process by having them pick out fabric for their new clothes for their reentry to normal lives.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful/about.html
When these girls return to their village with their incontinence problem, they were outcast by their husband and others. In watching the story of one such outcast is Ayehu from a village Gojam. Ayehu has suffered with fistula for 6 years and now at 25 years old we follow her on her own 17 hour “Walk to Beautiful” pilgrimage from Gojam to Addis Ababa. From the 6 hour walk from Gojam to the road, she endures the social embarrassment of constantly leaking while walking or on the long bus ride to the city. When she arrives at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital she is amazed to discover how many women have this same problem, and finds comfort in sharing her story and hearing similar stories from other “outcasts”. Ayehu is examined and found to have a relatively small hole so her prognosis is very positive for a normal life following surgical repair. Others are not so fortunate. Sometimes the damage done to the bladder is too great and the fix does not solve the problem of incontinence. The bladder may be too small, and the best solution that can be offered is to do the so-called “Kegle exercises” to strengthen pelvic muscles as a means to control leakage. At least following the fistula repair surgery, the urine is now exiting the bladder through its normal route, and not the hole.
Watching Ayehu return to her village, her home and her child and be now accepted back was a moment of mixed emotions. While I rejoiced that Ayehu now is back in her family’s good graces, when I consider the thousands of discarded women, I am appalled that loved ones would disown them in the first place. Putting myself in their place of a former fistula sufferer, I am not so sure that I would be able to resume such a fractured relationship with my family and friends. At least not until I first dealt with this emotional issue of how could they throw me away just like a broken doll.
This movie opened my eyes to the huge need of so many women. In Ethiopia it is estimated that there are 100,000 Ethiopian women who need this surgical repair. Such a relatively minor repair…such a huge difference, like being brought back from the dead. I appreciated that this hospital goes a step further in the healing process by having them pick out fabric for their new clothes for their reentry to normal lives.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful/about.html
