For the past five years, Grace Osei Tutu, a ten-year-old victim of multiple rapes, has never been able to experience her monthly menstruation leading to frequent collapses and other health conditions; but thanks to the Vodafone Healthline Support Initiative, she can look forward to a healthier life.
Narrating her story on the third episode of the Vodafone Healthline Season 10, she indicated that a co-tenant in their Santasi-Kumasi compound house, raped her on multiple occasions and warned her to keep mute or be killed, and as naïve as she was five years ago, she held on to it until the aftermath effects have begun to manifest.
Her predicaments started when she got pregnant and the man in question took her to a doctor in a nearby facility to perform an abortion on her without her knowledge, because even though the doctor initially mentioned to her that she was pregnant, the man managed to convince her that it was a complication in the stomach, not pregnancy and so the doctor will operate her to correct it.
After the masterminded operation to terminate the pregnancy was carried out by the rapist and the doctor, Grace has not been able to experience her menstrual cycle for even just a day for a whopping five years.
That is not all, due to this condition, she often falls sick and collapses with little stress; sometimes even at church, her mother indicated.
The mother indicated that she first took her to A1 Hospital, where the doctors examined her and confirmed that she has an infection and so she was transferred to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for surgery (KATH). However, the hefty cost of the surgery made it difficult for them to carry out the treatment.
Thank goodness for Vodafone Healthline! Grace is now a normal woman who experiences her menstruation and is free from the frequent collapses and illnesses. She was full of praise for the Vodafone Healthline Team for coming to her aid.
Dr. Richard Dei-Asamoa, the Specialist Psychiatrist, touching on depression and suicide, explained that there are two types of depression – Reaction depression and clinical depression. He advised that family and friends should be concerned about stress and sadness that extends beyond normal limits in the situation of reaction depression which happens after a sad event.
This, he said, is because when attention and help are not offered to the person, it can escalate to clinical depression and lead to suicide on some occasions. Smoking, alcoholism and the use of other hard drugs can also lead to depression and suicide when help is not offered timely.
Myth buster segment
The Healthline in-house doctors – Dr. Aba Folson, the Cardiologist, and Dr. Kwekuma Yalley, General Practitioner – delving into the topic: ‘Hangover is cured by drinking more’, explained that drinking too much alcohol brings some effects on the body such as headache, vomiting, abdominal upset, among others, which is often referred to as a hangover.
Dr. Yalley stated that drinking more in this situation of post intoxication symptoms will rather aggravate the condition and cannot be seen as a means to address the situation.
“Maybe one feels that when he drinks more in such a situation, he gets better; but the fact is that the person becomes drunk again, hence, less conscious of his/her condition and not because the hangover disappears. With drinking more rather, it will cause more distraction to the body,” he said.
He advised people to know their limits and try to stay within limits to avoid the health and economic issues that come with them.
On her part, Dr. Folson emphasised that sleeping well, drinking enough water and staying within limits are the best ways to address the hangover. She added that addiction is a causative factor to excessive drinking and so friends and family are advised to help relatives with addictive tendencies.
Dr. Yalley, during this week in medicine segment, indicated that mental health is as important as physical health. He advised that anytime one feels the state of mental cognition is not regular, they should seek medical health from a psychiatrist.
In the Jewels in the Kitchen segment, Frema Asiedu outlined the benefits of garlic, stating that it helps the heart and controls blood pressure levels, flu and cold. It is also anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and antimicrobial (meaning it helps deal with bacteria) and boosts the immune system.
She, therefore, urged the consumption of one raw garlic a day.
