This photo and the one at the end of this blog have been entered by Professor Judith Goh in the IUGA (International Urogynaecological Association) Photo competition. I used them in this blog a few years ago (which I have re blogged below) and everytime I see them – I get all warm and fuzzy.
How amazing to have the skill and generosity of spirit to change these women’s lives; to make them, in the space of two weeks, transform from sad, miserable, lonely, ostracized women to women who can laugh and smile with such obvious pleasure at their newly acquired continence.
Now your job, after you have read this blog, is not just to become warm and fuzzy- you have to LIKE THE PHOTO on the link here and here and make Judith’s photos a winner. To improve your warm, fuzzy feeling you could also follow the link in the blog and make a donation to her amazing work (you must donate to Medical Training in Africa for the money to go to her work- it’s a little tricky but please persevere – it is the 29th June, so any donation you make today and tomorrow will be TAX DEDUCTABLE!!)
Here is the blog:
They look happy – what could possibly have made these smiles a mile wide?
Have they won Gold Lotto?
No better than that!
Have they met One Direction or Justin Bieber?
Unlikely!
No that lady in the middle in the blue has changed their lives. That is Professor Judith Goh and she, in their eyes is a miracle worker. Judith, along with Dr Hannah Krause, have devoted their lives to solving women’s continence problems on a world-wide scale. They are Urogynaecologists who work here in Brisbane, helping women with their stress and urge incontinence and prolapse issues. But then about 3 or 4 times a year flit off to Africa and operate on vast numbers of women who have something called a fistula – a connection between the bladder and the vagina or the rectum and the vagina. Now that is a very unpleasant ailment to have. You imagine having a constant urinary dribble (and no access or money to buy pads) or worse still, a constant and unrelenting faecal or gas control problem.
These women have suffered this as a result of prolonged labour (up to 3 or 4 days) and sadly the baby dies in the birth canal leaving these desperate women having to deal with the loss of their new baby as well as a terrible birth injury. They become outcasts from their communities, despised for their smell and uncleanliness.
Judith and Hannah work in different hospitals and clinics in Africa, not just operating on the women, but also teaching nurses and doctors over there about safer obstetric practices. They are hoping to spread the word to the women to make their way to a clinic just before they are due to go into labour, so they can be close to help in case there labour obstructs. Their work is inspirational !
What is even more incredible is Judith and Hannah have to fund this work themselves. Together with an organization called HADA they have to pay for their airfares, pay for the women to have the surgery, pay for all the equipment – pay for everything.
So you can now understand the sheer, unadulterated joy of these women demonstrated in these beautiful photos.
Help make them go viral.
Let’s make this photo a winner! Finale to World Continence Week.
