'Living wit vaginal agenesis no mean say your life dey ova' - Ghanaian lady dey use her story advocate for odas

Wen 27-year-old radio and television presenter Asangsia Tabitha wey dey popular as Yaa Bitha get im recent health wahala wey she go di 37 Military Hospital, she see say many women for di queue to di gynaecologist be older women.

Most of dem either be pregnant or get fibroid wahala, dat be wen she begin to wonder "I be di only pesin for dis kontri wit dis vaginal agenesis condition?"

Afta dat session for di hospital, she decide say time don reach for her to come out and share her sensitive tori.

For many years, she bin dey live wit dis condition wey she always dey move from one hospital to anoda.

But dem find out wetin di condition be wen she chop 14 years wia she no fit menstruate.

Di bubbly journalist dey live wit condition wey dem dey call Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome aka vaginal agenesis.

Wetin be vaginal agenesis?

According to sabi pesin Dr Andrews Baha, "dis be rare congenital condition wia dem born woman either witout uterus and upper vagina or say di uterus and upper vagina no develop well".

Im tok BBC News Pidgin say for some of di cases, di ovaries and external genital organ dey normal.

Yaa Bitha explain say she get her first surgery wen dem born her sake of all her organs dey underdeveloped wey she bin dey suffer wetin sabi pipo call neonatal ascites.

Dis be rare critical condition wen water full di belle of new-born baby.

Since den, na one wahala afta anoda till dis day.

Yaa Bitha undergo vaginoplasty and many oda surgeries

Sometime for 2011, she begin dey feel serious pain for belle, wey di belle don become big.

"Pipo tink say I even carry belle at dat time sake of my belle don big. My menses dey happun inside my bodi, but notin dey to hold am wey place no dey wia e for comot, na so e bin gada inside my belle," she explain.

Dem open her belle wey dem comot di blood, but months later, di wahala come again, dem open her belle wia dem comot di blood again.

Na so her papa vex say dem don dey cut im pikin too much wia dem no dey fix di actual wahala.

"At some point my papa even carry me go Nigeria for miracle for prophet TB Joshua im church; dem give us some liquid say make I take put my hair, inside my food, but dat one no fit solve di problem."

She bin dey suffer until 2013 wen dem finally diagnose her wit vagina agenesis - dat be wen dem try to reconstruct her uterus and genitals.

"Dem explain to me say dem go create wetin dem call plastic graft to attach to di small, underdeveloped uterus, wey dem connect plastic tube and drill hole outside wia di menstrual fluid fit comot for my bodi."

Many years later, dat plastic tube still dey inside her bodi wia dem now bin dey advise her to replace am wit silicon.

But di 27-year-old tok BBC News Pidgin say her bodi don undergo so many surgeries, wia she no dey sure if she dey mentally ready for anoda one.

"For September dis year, I bin dey feel serious pain again na so I go di hospital wey dem say I dey suffer wetin dem dey call surgical adhesions, wen di bodi don go through plenty trauma, na so some of my organs bin dey attach diasef to odas sake of many of di tissues inside get scars."

"Maybe wen I feel say I dey mentally ready, I go do di next surgery make dem replace di plastic part of my uterus wit silicon, e neva dey easy," Yaa Bitha tok.

She explain say sabi pipo tok am say she gatz dey on medication to prevent infection and oda wahala.

Also, she gatz do wetin dem dey call dilation evri day to keep di reconstructed vaginal canal open.

"I bin dey use dilator evri day, I dey insert for di hole wey I go dey poke am back and forth for 15 minutes if I taya, I fit leave am inside di hole for one hour; dat way di hole no go close," she explain.

"E dey like di hole for earring, if you no put earring for long time, di hole fit close."

Yaa Bitha tok BBC News Pidgin say "I gatz do di dilation until God decide to take my life."

Dr Andrews Baha say "dis vaginal dilation na treatment wen vaginal development dey required, for some cases though, dem fit consider total reconstructive surgery".

She overcome stigma and shaming

During her high school years, Yaa Bitha say her condition make she suffer stigma and shame.

Some girls for her high school wey bin see her nakedness for bathhouse bin dey tok mean tins about her bodi.

"At dat time, I neva dey like to enta di general bathhouse sake of evribodi go dey look me somehow."

She add say "by my fourth surgery, I bin get plenty scars for my belle, wen pipo see di scars for di first time, dem go dey watch me somehow".

"Even during physical education (PE) for junior high school, I neva fit involve mysef sake of I always bin dey in pain."

As I bin dey grow up, still pipo dey tok horrible tins about me.

"See, pipo get dia own story about why I don dey slim like dis - pipo say na sickle cell, some say na asthma, odas even say na HIV/AIDS I get," Yaa Bitha remember some of di harsh tins pipo tok.

"For high school, some pipo say I get HIV/AIDS, na sad tin, you go see oda pipo dey normal dey do normal tins, but na only you dey different, you no fit do normal tins. I for dey come house evri weekend to go to hospital for dat time wen I dey senior high school."

Di 27-year-old journalists say dose tins bin affect her well well, sometimes she go dey alone dey wonder why she dey dis condition.

"Dis bin affect me, for my high school years, I always dey go hospital for medication or therapy."

Yaa tok BBC News Pidgin say "sometimes I go dey watch my siblings dey live normal life, I go now begin dey wonder why God give dem normal childhood wey I bin dey suffer like dis, but as di Bible tok am, if no be you, den who?"

Her relationship also bin suffer.

Some of di pipo wey come her life fit ask her if she go fit born wit dis her condition, na so dem go move away.

But Yaa Bitha say she don overcome most of dis tins wit support of her family.

Why she begin advocacy

Dr Andrews Baha tok BBC News Pidgin say, "Globally, Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome aka vaginal agenesis dey occur for about one out of 5,000 females, but reliable data about wetin dey occur for Africa no dey available, na so surgical treatment data about di condition for Africa also dey limited."

Yaa Bitha don accept her fate wey she bin dey live one day at a time.

She dey do tins wey dey give her joy, like to dey wake up evri day to her radio and TV programmes or her MC jobs.

But as she bin dey give odas joy on radio, she also dey use her tori to inspire odas.

Since she begin to share her story, she don receive positive and negative comments on top social media.

"Pipo go tok about evritin for dis world, so afta I begin to share my story, I see some of di comments, but di positive ones plenty na so women and oda mothers don reach out for my social media to tok say dem bin get di same condition."

Yaa Bitha say, "I no fit solve dia wahala, I also no fit tok dem say dem get di same wahala I get, but I fit advise dem about di hospitals dem gatz go and di tests dem gatz do; I also fit tok dem di kai tins to read."

Wit di advocacy, she wan "create stable community wia pipo fit come togeda to say yes, I bin get dis condition but dat no dey define me."

She want create safe space for women and girls so say togeda dem fit find help.

"Since I bin open up, nurses and oda health workers don reach out to me, some bin send me money to support oda pipo to go for diagnosis or visit di gynaecologist or urologist for dia problem."

In fact, some pipo also bin recommend some specialists wia she don currently dey visit for therapy.

"My greatest fulfilment for dis advocacy na to create di community wia we fit help men and women wey get different reproductive wahala no be only MRKH syndrome," she tok.

Her brother wey bin see how she suffer wen she bin dey young for dis condition, don decide to specialise for gynaecology for medical school.

Yaa Bitha say dat one na anoda ogbonge fulfilment for her.

"Di fact say sombodi fit tok say im dey choose career path sake of di experiences im see you suffer, na brave tin; I bin dey grateful to my brother togeda wit my mama and papa."

Wetin dis whole experience don teach di young journalist?

"True love dey conquer evritin. Di kain love wey my parents and siblings don show me for dis years, I neva fit forget. Dem bin dey wit me throughout. Na pure love."

Dr Andrews Baha tok BBC News Pidgin say "currently, sabi pipo no find anytin wey dey link dis condition to wetin di mama of di pikin bin do or fail to do during pregnancy."

But im tok say hope no finish for women for dis condition.

"Wit appropriate specialist care, women wit MRKH fit live healthy and fulfilling life."

"Although most affected women no fit carry pregnancy sake of di absent or underdeveloped uterus, dia functioning ovaries fit provide options for biological parenthood through reproductive technologies wey don dey available," Dr Baha explain.

Yaa Bitha say she dey ready to enjoy di rest of her life dis way.

"If e mean say I go dey take more medication to stay alive and accomplish my dreams, abeg sign me up. I want stay alive and reach 99 years."

One last tin she go tok anyone wey dey feel somehow for dia bodi?

"No mata wetin dey happun to you, make you go di hospital first and any oda tin go come later. But living wit MRKH no mean say your life dey ova, e just mean say you be one of di special servants of God."