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Roselyne Sachiti

Features, Health & Society Editor

The nagging pain is sharp and excruciating, yet 43- year old Loice Dhlakama’s body absorbs it all as each day passes.

Dhlakama, who now resides in Nyabira, looks nine months pregnant and congratulatory messages and questions of when she will give birth are the order of day, especially from people who have not seen her in a long time.

Living with a gynaecological condition known as uterine fibroids, she has no answer for the well-wishers, as they, in most times, end up confused on why she is not pregnant, yet her tummy suggests she should be.

Young kids ask her when she will give birth so they play with her baby — she still has no answer.

Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths of the uterus that often appear during child-bearing years.

The cause of fibroids isn’t well understood.

Risk factors include a family history of fibroids, obesity or early onset of puberty.

Symptoms include heavy menstrual bleeding, prolonged periods and pelvic pain. In some cases, there are no symptoms.

Treatments include medication and removal of the fibroid through myomectomy. In worst cases, hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus is done.

Yet Dhlakama, a housemaid, who earns US$30 per month cannot afford the treatment as myomectomy fees are high when performed by private doctors.

In public hospitals, the costs are lower, but she has to endure a long waiting list.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made her situation worse as she has to wait a bit longer, at the same time her health is deteriorating.

She told The Herald on Saturday how the gynaecological problem resulted in her being infertile and going through a rough marriage as her husband’s relatives expected a child a few months into her marriage.

When this did not happen, problems started.

“It was not easy during the first six months,” said Dhlakama. “They were already expecting a child. They suggested my husband leave me for another woman. I prayed and asked God to watch over me.”

When she thought the family pressure was too much, society also started talking.

Loice shows her bulging tummy, caused by a gynaecological condition known as uterine fibroids

“They treated me like I was nothing,” she said. “They said all sorts of things about me. I was ostracised. I found comfort in the fact that my husband supported me. Sometimes I felt so much pain I could not walk, he would understand and we did not become intimate during such times.”

As a result of the family pressure, Dhlakama and her husband looked for a new place to stay and left their home in Mount Darwin, Mashonaland Central.

This was their only way to stay together and far from the village gossip mill and prying eyes.

They escaped the embarrassment of being labelled barren.

“When we moved from the village I started bleeding, but this was light,” said Dhlakama. “I looked for a job as a housemaid in Belvedere, Harare, so that I could raise money for treatment.

“When I sought treatment in 2008, the gynaecologist told me I had uterine fibroids. This was my first time to learn of this gynaecological condition.”

As Dhalakama and her husband travelled their journey, fate led them to a dark thorny path.

In 2010, Dhlakama’s husband, her pillar of strength, suffered a stroke. This meant the couple now required money for two hospital bills.

It was hard, the money was out of reach.

Left with no other option, the couple returned to the village whose gossip jaws they had escaped.

For five more years, Dhlakama, fighting her own medical condition became the primary caregiver of her ailing husband.

It was a daunting task.

She tried everything, yet nothing worked.

Sadly, her husband died in 2015.

In 2018, Dhlakama sought medical help again, and this time the fibroids had grown bigger.

“Ten years after my first diagnosis, the pain worsened,” she said. “I sought medical help and the fibroids had increased in size. I was given the quotation for the surgery and the money was equivalent to three cows. I could not afford that and just continued enduring the pain.”

Dhlakama was at that time staying with her widowed mother and did not know what to do next.

She tried looking for another house-keeping job.

“It was hard to get a job,” she said. “No one wanted a person who was not fit to work for them. After a long struggle, I got a job where I am currently working. They understand my condition.”

According to Dhlakama, the fibroids have grown much bigger and are now affecting functioning of other body organs.

“Early this year, the situation got worse,” she said. “I would vomit each time I ate. My employer took me to a doctor and I was told the fibroids had become bigger and are putting pressure on my kidneys and heart. I cannot breathe properly.

“They make my back hurt so much. It is difficult to sit for a long time. I cannot sleep because of the intense pain. My employer paid for the consultation fees, but cannot afford to pay the entire bill of US$5 000 for me to undergo surgery.”

Dhlakama says time may be running out, and the pain is “too much” for her.

She is appealing for help from well-wishers to enable her to undergo surgery. She is reachable on 2630773835135

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