A Thousand Watt Injection -- Dr. Shershah Syed

Razia was married at 16. She was riding with her husband on a scooter when a truck with steel rods rammed into them; her husband died instantly. Razia’s in-laws blamed her for his death, and sent her back to her family. She was six months pregnant, and suffered a long and complicated early delivery. Her baby was born dead, and Razia developed fistula – a devastating condition caused by prolonged obstructed labor; she was leaking urine and feces constantly. She had no idea what to do, until someone told her about the Koohi Goth Women’s Hospital outside of Karachi. Founded by Dr. Shershah Syed, a Pakistani ob-gyn, in 2005, it provides free surgeries to correct fistula and other emergency obstetric procedures, and has treated thousands of women from remote parts of Pakistan. Razia saved for two years to travel to the hospital. She underwent six complicated surgeries, and is now completely dry. She married again, adopted a child, and regained her dignity.I met Dr. Shershah Syed, serendipitously, on the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, May 23, at an event in Virginia. That same day, Razia was sharing her story at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland as part of events commemorating that day.Dr. Shershah is unassuming and humble; he is also one of the most respected doctors in Pakistan. Educated in Ireland and the UK, he planned to work in the area of infertility. But when he returned to Pakistan, he was shocked at the number of fistula cases and the government’s inattention to maternal health; he changed course. He worked for many years in the government hospital. But says he kept getting transferred or fired, because he would speak his mind: “The government is not interested in the health of women, they're more interested in atomic bombs and missiles, and all that nonsense." "They didn’t like that,” he says smiling. So he bought a plot of land and set up Koohi Goth hospital in a slum area outside Karachi. It has 200 beds; his plan is to grow it to 600 beds. He trains 75 midwives each year, as well as medical technicians, theatre technicians, and female health workers. It costs $1500 to train a midwife, and it’s an 18 month course. "That’s nothing,” he says, “this can change a woman's life, pull her family up, and save the lives of others.”“If I see a patient 19 years old, and she comes to me like a dead walking woman, and I can do this 20 minute operation or one hour operation, and within five days you see her face is totally changed; her eyes are bright; she is a totally changed person. That gives you a thousand watt injection.”“I’ve been doing this work for 34 years and I don’t ever remember that on the occasion of the birth of a girl, shots being fired in celebration, or mitahi being ordered, or a mother putting her gold necklace around my neck; but when a boy is born, this always happens. Mothers have given me their gold rings – as if I’ve done something amazing.”“In a society where boys are so valued, who asks about girls – nobody asks. Until our country, our government, our society understands that it is vital to save women’s lives, maternal death will continue,” he says.Dr. Shershah invited me to visit Koohi Goth hospital and see the work first hand. IA, I’ll have a chance to go, and write in more detail about the extraordinary story of this Pakistani doctor destroying traditional stereotypes as he helps the most desperate and impoverished women regain their dignity.To donate to Dr. Shershah’s work at Koohi Goth Women's Hospital, please visit: http://nhfus.org/shershah.html