VVF Ladies

Last week I was able to take photos of two VVF Dress Ceremonies. VVF is a birth injury. Basically, a woman has a difficult labor which requires a c-section. However, the woman lives in a country with no medical care and instead labors', often unassisted, for 3 to 5 days. Finally, she delivers a dead baby and is often very close to death herself. The prolonged pressure from the babies head causes necrosis of the internal tissues, leaving the woman with a fistula. The woman will uncontrollably leak (pour is really a better term) urine and sometimes feces. Most husbands leave them completely alone and they are shunned by their communities. Many of them are still teenagers when this occurs.

Thankfully, their are surgeons like Dr. Steve Arrowsmith (our amazing VVF surgeon) who are committed to helping these woman regain their lives, showing them that God has not forsaken them.

After a woman receives surgery, we have a dress ceremony for her. She receives a new dress, sings her own praise song, and gives a testimony of what God has done for her. It's always a beautiful time.

And the women are pretty beautiful themselves.