By Ikome Christie-Noella Eposi
It was on Friday May 12 2017 at the mile one regional hospital in Limbe where the philanthropist and Member of Parliament for the Fako-east constituency, Hon. Etombi Gladys Ikome paid a visit to patients at the surgical ward especially women suffering from vagina fistulas.
Apart from the huge financial aid to the patients, items such as fruits and groceries were equally donated to each patient of the surgical and maternity ward. This was in a bid to encourage them not to feel left out or neglected by the society. Above 10 patients from the surgical and maternity ward benefited from this kind gesture.
“My main aim to the Limbe Regional Hospital is to visit women who have been suffering from vagina fistulas and who have undergone the operation. This is something I started at the beginning of my mandate and I said it must go through the whole mandate. So we are just continuing what we started. In the course of our tour in the hospital, we were told that a young lady had triplets so we equally had to make a stop at the maternity sector. We also want to thank God for the work the doctors and nurses are doing in this hospital, everywhere is extremely clean and neat and the patients are well taken care of”. Hon. Etombi Gladys stated at the close of her visit.
Quizzed on why her interest lies mainly on cases of patients with vagina fistula, Hon. Etombi noted that, “in life, one has soft spot for different things and I in particular have a soft spot for women who run into trouble because they are trying to bring life through child birth. This is not a cheap operation so I just thought it wise to give such women a helping hand”
“Some of the women do not have the means of financing their conditions. I am therefore using this forum to reach out to those in need of financial as well as moral assistance.” she added.
Madam Gladys concluded by appreciating the efforts of the Limbe Regional Hospital which has witnessed a major upgrade. “We now have the imaging center where people come from all over the country. We equally thank the Government for their efforts and we hope and pray more work and upgrading be done”. She reiterated.
Medical realities of the vagina Fistula
According to Dr.EYONGETA Divine, Medical adviser/Urologist, “The vaginal fistula is an abnormal condition which occurs in women. It is actually an abnormal communication between the vagina and the urinary bladder in the female. Women with such conditions experience a leak of urine through their vagina. This is usually caused due to difficult delivery and amounts to Obstetrical fistulas. These women usually smell bad as a result of the urine. So this makes them shy and feel rejected from their family and society. It destroys their entire sexual life. That is why we need people of good will like Hon. Etombi Gladys who is ready to pay for their treatment and support them in all aspects. We want the entire society to know that vagina fistula is for real and can be treated. So far we have started with 2 cases and we have a list of women who have booked for this operation”.