Wall and Family Help African Women

Terry Wall, M.D., J.D., of Kansas City, Mo., is equally comfortable practicing radiation oncology at St. Luke’s Hospital or rubbing elbows with luminaries like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as he is roughing it on trips to his retreat in the remote Canadian wilderness.

It’s no surprise, then, that Wall, together with his father and brother, both doctors of obstetrics and gynecology, has used his unique skill set to help develop a foundation called the Worldwide Fistula Fund. The organization, established in 1995, helps young African women who experience the serious medical problem of a vesico-vaginal fistula as a result of giving birth while teenagers, well before their bodies are physically ready. In addition to the embarrassment caused by the urinary incontinence, in most cases they are banished from their home and become exiled from their village.

“The problems extend from the fact that most are only around 14 years old when they have a baby and their bodies aren’t mature enough to handle the stress of giving birth,” said Dr. Wall. “Couple that with the fact that there aren’t enough adequate facilities or physicians in Africa who are trained to help these women or provide alternatives to natural child birth where the average duration of labor is four days. The child is stillborn, the mother has developed a fistula and you have something approaching an epidemic in Africa.”

It is estimated that roughly 800,000 women in Nigeria alone suffer from this problem, with the majority of them under the age of 20 years old. The problem, however, extends across the entire continent. While the Walls originally targeted Nigeria as the place to build a hospital, unrest in that country has caused them to change plans. They now would like to build a regional facility in Ghana where affected women can go for treatment. Through the foundation, the family has also brought African physicians to the United States to learn advanced gynecologic surgeries. They would also like to educate the women and physicians on prenatal care, a concept that does not exist in remote villages.

The Walls got involved in this cause after Terry’s brother, Lewis, started his career after college as an anthropologist in Nigeria. It was there that he witnessed how these young women become social outcasts because of the damage that pregnancy does to their bodies. Because he’s a radiation oncologist and the process of repairing a fistula requires intricate surgery, Dr. Wall has performed mostly a home support role for his father and brother. However, this summer, he will make his inaugural trip to Ghana on a radiation therapy outreach, but will also spend time doing work for the foundation.