Nel's Story

Meet Nel, When Nel was 18-years old she did not have access to emergency obstetric care when she had obstructed labor. The pressure of the fetus and the trauma of the obstructed birth canal created a hole in the wall between her birth canal and bladder. This no longer happens in developed countries because surgical services and C-sections are available. Nel has lived the past decade leaking urine continuously. Because the odor of leaking body fluid is powerful, the social stigma of VVF is harsh causing her husband to leave and Nell to become an outcast. Nel is but one story of thousands. CHSC staff physician in Angola Dr. Priscila Cummings was able to repair Nel’s Fistula. In doing so, Nel was no longer an outcast, her life, her health, her family were restored!