Life as a Social Outcast - Part 2 of 4 - Angola

Below is the story of a 17 year-old fistula patient at the Clinica CEML. She was quite open about her experiences and very appreciative of the opportunity to share her story with me. Please keep in mind that she is one of many fistula patients currently at CEML. Her story, while unique, is a representation of the lives of many women struggling with fistulas. She has allowed me to share her story with friends and family, but photos and names have been removed,

I have combined her responses to my questions into a story, as opposed to a back-and-forth dialogue. This interview conversation was in Portuguese, and I have translated it into English.

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Her Story:

I am 17 years old and was born on December 1, 1993. I used to live in a small town called Chitembo with my parents and three siblings. My parents do not work. My father has four children, while my mother only has three children. When I was younger, our family moved to Cavango, where we have been living ever since.

In 2008, at the age of fifteen, I became pregnant with my first child. My husband was two years older than me and fathered my baby. After nine months, I started having pains in my body. I remained at home for two days, hoping for the pain to go away. This was in early 2009. As the pain continued by the second day, I was taken to a hospital in Quito. There, I learned the news that my baby had already passed away.

At the clinic I was cut down below to make room for the baby to come out. But the cut was never closed. When my husband found out that my baby had died and I had a fistula – urine was constantly seeping out – he left me. I had a husband. But he didn’t want me anymore. So he left me. I do not speak to him anymore.

My illness began in 2009. I remained in Quito for some time before returning to Cavango. After a while, a family friend suggested I visit Dr. Steve [Foster] when he was visiting in Cavango. My friend had already had a successful operation and her family told me to come here with the same kind of illness.

I decided to go to the Cavango clinic with my father in April 2009. I had my first operation in Lubango with Dr. Steve in October 2009. A second operation happened in late October 2009 because the first operation did not close up the fistula properly. That was my second operation. I had a third fistula repair operation in March 2010. This too did not successfully repair my fistula. A fourth operation happened on June 17, 2010. Following my recent operation this month, I will have my catheter removed and will do a post-operative exam in July. I hope all will be properly repaired.

For the past eight months, I have been living in the patient’s village with my father. [Note: Several other women have expressed concern with her father’s excessive drinking in the patient’s village]. The classes that have been organized by CEML have been very good. I feel great. I really like these classes because I can learn a lot. I want to learn here. I am learning everything here – math, writing and reading. I also like to sew a lot. I have made my own purse, which I use to carry my hospital card and documents.

When I finish with my treatment at the clinic, I want to study math, science and Portuguese. I do not want a husband. I do not want any babies. I will continue to study so that I can be a nurse when I grow up.

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The next part of this series will be another story as another example of another woman who has come to CEML for a fistula repair operation.