Word gets out that doctors from the US are at Gimbie hospital. Each day, women line up to try to see a doctor. Some of them have walked for days to get to the hospital. As we interview the women, we find that most women have lived with a prolapse condition for many years.
When a woman has a prolapse, she experiences a great deal of pain. Sometimes the prolapse includes ulcers that bleed. Walking, which is their only means of transportation, becomes extremely difficult, thus preventing them from working in the fields, gathering firewood to cook with, and tending to their children. Her children start looking for food elsewhere, and often times the children roam away from home and try to live on their own, banded together foraging for food.
The boys can survive this nomadic lifestyle easier than the girls. A wandering girl is a target for many things: early marriage, physical abuse, excessive domestic work, rape, and early pregnancy, which starts the cycle all over again.
One can see how desperate a woman becomes when she hears that there is a chance she could be cured.
Even though there are four surgeons, we all soon see that the needs in Ethiopia are overwhelming. This calls attention to the issue of extended follow up care: our Oregon doctors are performing many surgeries during the week, but there are only a few doctors who can handle the follow up after the Oregon doctors leave. As the lightning quick bush communication spreads, people start to mob the front doors of the hospital, pushing and shoving to try to get in. For the women who are lucky enough to have a support system, the fathers and brothers are here to demand that their loved one is seen. Desperation is readily seen on their faces, and it is disheartening to know that we only have a few more days to get as many surgeries done as possible. And in order to not overwhelm Dr. Tekle, the lone Ethiopian surgeon who works permanently in Gimbie, we soon will be cutting off surgeries.
Reality sets in, and we all know that one of our most difficult tasks is turning people away, especially after they have walked for days, in excruciating pain, for their only chance for help.
