Stories of Hope for Women’s Health

Sarah’s Story

The impact of the maternal health services at Bwindi Community Hospital is profound. One notable success story among many is that of a twenty-four-year-old mother named Sarah, who benefited from the improved maternal healthcare services at Bwindi Community Hospital.

Sarah, from a nearby village, experienced complications during her pregnancy, which could have led to newborn death. Thanks to the upgraded facilities and skilled healthcare providers at the hospital, Sarah received timely medical intervention and delivered the baby at 29 weeks by cesarean section. The baby was handed over to the NICU team as he struggled to breathe on his own. While in the NICU, the baby's condition continued to deteriorate, with severe difficulty in breathing and severe weight loss due to poor tolerance to breast milk.

Despite not having a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine in the unit, the medical team and the trained biomedical technician improvised with a locally made bubble CPAP. The baby's breathing improved tremendously was progressively more independent. After spending a week in the NICU, the baby began skin-to-skin care with Sarah which helped him immensely. Sarah was filled with joy every moment she held him, and the baby's weight started to increase.

After two months in the NICU, the baby was discharged with medications to boost his immunity. Sarah was encouraged to continue practicing skin-to-skin care at home with instructions to bring him back for check-ups every two weeks to monitor his growth and examine him for further concerns.

Sarah's story is a beautiful example of how the Kellermann Foundation's support directly impacts individual lives within the community by providing access to high-quality maternal and child healthcare services.

Stella’s Story

Stella, a twenty-two-year-old from Gwabushunju, Kanungu, arrived at Bwindi Community Hospital during her second pregnancy. Stella was referred from a lower health facility with an intestinal obstruction at thirty-two weeks.

Her first treatments were intravenous fluids, an inserted NG tube, and dexamethasone for the maturation of the baby's lungs. The following day, Stella underwent an emergency caesarian-section to deliver the baby and an exploratory laparotomy to correct the obstruction. Though the baby had scored fairly, he was referred to the neonatal unit for close monitoring since he had low birth weight and underdeveloped lungs. Unfortunately, after a few days, the baby passed.

Stella's diagrammatic defect was found and corrected, and after a few days in the maternal health high-dependence unit, she was moved to the ward and discharged after a week. She returned for a follow-up exam after two weeks and received a good report. She was encouraged to go to a nearby health unit should she have any complaints. Thankfully, she did not develop any further concerns.

Hospital staff were grateful to have saved Stella's life when she came in with preterm birth and intestinal obstruction in pregnancy. This dangerous condition causes mortality of both mother and child if not well managed. Having a robust sexual and reproductive health program at Bwindi Community Hospital saved Stella's life and enabled her first child to grow up with a mother.

Estelli’s Story

Estelli, a twenty-year-old student from Kanyashande, presented with a fever of three weeks duration, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. During admission, she developed abdominal distention with vomiting. On review by the surgical team, she was found to have typhoid fever due to drinking unsafe/contaminated water. Unfortunately, her condition worsened. She developed small bowel perforations—a well-known complication of typhoid fever. She underwent abdominal surgery, and the surgical team found six gut perforations with a section of non-viable gut (i.e., dead bowel). After the removal of the damaged intestine, Estelli improved day-by-day and fully recovered. Hospital staff treated the entire family as a precaution, and advised the local community on safe water to prevent typhoid and its potentially fatal complications.

Fistula and other gynecological repairs

In partnership with a Swiss surgical team, Bwindi Community Hospital annually hosts a one-week Fistula-Gynecology Camp where 18 to 25 women who have been diagnosed with obstetric fistula and/or pelvic organ prolapse undergo surgery. Patients are recruited locally before the camp through radio announcements and local identification, and they are picked up by car to go to Bwindi Community Hospital. Prolonged and obstructed labor often causes obstetric fistulas, abnormal connections formed when a hole occurs between the vagina and bladder and/or the vagina and rectum. This leads to uncontrollable leakage of urine and/or stool. In most cases, the affected women are tragically ostracized. Most often, these women are rejected by their husbands and family members and become completely isolated. They are no longer able to work for a living and end up in poverty.

Fistulas usually occur during the first delivery when labor takes a long time. Many Ugandan women who live in remote areas labor at home or during a walk to the closest hospital. By the time they reach a hospital, it is often too late. In many cases, the babies die during birth. The tragic stories associated with obstetric fistulas are the biggest motivation for the Swiss team to collaborate with the hospital’s surgical team. Nothing is more satisfying than looking into the smiling faces of happy patients after a successful intervention.

Patient A

Patient A was an 80-year-old female who had a vesicovaginal fistula since 1961. The patient was once a married woman with four children, all of whom she delivered at home. Her first deliveries went well with the help of her mother. However, with her last child, she had prolonged labor that lasted for five days. Her difficult labor and childbirth left her with a fistula, and leaking urine. She underwent surgery to repair the damage, but it was not successful. Heartbroken, she returned home to her four children and husband who left her soon afterward. For 54 years, the patient endured the shame and discomfort of her fistula. One day, she heard a radio announcement that gave her hope. She recalls, "I spent a lot of money trying to treat myself, but I was wet for so long. I felt like committing suicide. On the radio, I heard an advert for the fistula camp at Bwindi Community Hospital and decided to make the journey here." Her operation was a success, and she felt whole again for the first time in years. She is very grateful to the hospital and the doctors who conducted the fistula camp.

Patient B

Patient B was a twenty-four-year-old mother of three referred from Kihihi Health Centre IV with a ruptured uterus. At the time of presentation, she was in severe shock, and her blood pressure was so low it did not even register. She was rushed into the surgical theater where an emergency hysterectomy was performed. She had three cardiac arrests during surgery and had to be given a blood transfusion because of blood loss. Thankfully, the medical team was able to save her life. The patient's family is so grateful that she survived.

Patient C

Patient C was a 60-year-old woman who was involved in a vehicular accident while on her way to the local market to sell produce from the harvest she had made. The vehicle she was traveling in lost control and overturned, leading to the patient and many others falling off and sustaining severe injuries. The patient's left arm was crushed. She was rushed to Bwindi Community Hospital with profuse bleeding and immediately taken to the surgical theater. Unfortunately, the limb was too damaged to be saved and had to be amputated. The patient recovered well and was discharged after fifteen days. Although she lost an arm, she is thankful to be alive because of the prompt surgical intervention she received.