Fistula Story: Julie
Julie Warren R. N. is the first to tell you she is passionate about fistula. She also has a heart for mission that she pours into leading her United Methodist conference’s Volunteers in Mission (VIM) program in Central Texas.
For the past two years, Julie has led a team of doctors, nurses and other volunteers on medical missions to Ganta United Methodist Hospital located in northern Liberia where they have performed fistula repair surgery and other maternal and infant health care services. In a five-day period this past July, the team of three doctors and five nurses completed forty-eight separate procedures.
During this summer’s visit, while Julie was attending to the women waiting in line for evaluation by the medical team on a range of medical issues, she felt a gentle tug on the sleeve of her scrubs. When she looked around, she encountered a small young woman looking up at her who said so softly Julie couldn’t barely hear her, “I’m VVF.” “VVF” is the common term for obstetric fistula in Liberia where regular radio public service announcements are aimed at raising awareness of “vesicovaginal” fistula or VVF. Lucy, the girl at Julie’s sleeve had heard one of these announcements and knew if she could just get to Ganta Hospital there would be a medical team from the United States of America that would be carrying on free VVF surgery.
After coming out of the crowd to identify herself to the blond American nurse, Lucy went on to inform the team she had had four stillbirths and had been suffering VVF for over six years. The following morning, she was in the operating room and by noon repair surgery had been completed.
The next afternoon Lucy and her sister Pauline who had traveled with her were seen walking around the hospital compound with wide smiles knowing that thanks to Julie and her team, it was indeed the first day of the rest of her life. Encouraged by achievements made by Ganta Hospital in treating fistula patients, Julie is already setting her sights on a mission to Democratic Republic of Congo in Summer 2010.
Interview, article, and photographs courtesey of Jill Wiley, Operation Healing Hope.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Julie, I would like to speak to you about your trips to Liberia for a story. Please send me a phone number and a good time for us to talk. I think we met at General Conference in Fort Worth at the HIV/AIDs conference before all the proceedings got started.