Margarita has a long-standing affiliation with The Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick. Having given birth to her last born 27 years ago, when the hospital was located at Paddington.
Fast forward a few decades, after many happy years bringing up her children, Margarita has been faced with some health challenges in recent times.
Facing an uncomfortable feeling in her pelvis and the inability to control her bladder, Margarita was diagnosed with a prolapsed pelvis.
Margarita was given a pessary ring in 2020 and for a while, things seemed to be traveling along well.
In early 2022 everything began to unravel. The pain in Margarita’s pelvis was all-consuming and something felt very wrong. She experienced a loss of bladder control which led to incontinence.
Life was challenging and uncomfortable.
Margarita booked an appointment with gynaecologist, Dr. Juman Farjo here at The Royal where she was told that she had developed an infection.
A donation to Heart for Her this June will help thousands of women like Margarita
Unfortunately, the infection created an ulceration on her uterus wall and Margarita needed interior and posterior vaginal repair and sacrospinous fixation surgery, a procedure to treat the prolapse.
Many in their 50’s and 60’s experience the same medical condition as Margarita and often it can result in the removal of the entire uterus. An often traumatic and daunting experience for a woman already struggling to navigate the various stages of menopause and the physical and emotional challenges that arise from this.
Luckily for Margarita, her uterus was not prolapsing and therefore could remain intact. Immediately after the surgery Margarita described feeling as though she ‘was cared for really well by two beautiful nurses... they were so good.’
This debilitating condition is often not understood or heard of in the community and Margarita’s decision to openly share her story is incredibly important so that other women experiencing this condition may feel less isolated in their experience.
‘I was happy and pleased I got it done, I know a lot of women suffer like that’.
Post-surgery Margarita made a full recovery, experiencing no more leaks and discomfort, and felt incredibly grateful.
‘Dr Farjo you’re a professional, you’re a surgeon, I trust you’ were the words Margarita uttered in those early days of the infection.
Looking back, Margarita is so glad that she can move on with her life and go back to doing all the activities she used to do prior to the condition.
Each year, The Royal Hospital for Women provides care and treatment to over 10,000 women for a range of different health concerns. It is only through donations that every woman is able to receive such expert and personalised care. Your donation to Heart for Her will change the lives of thousands of women like Margarita each year.
