A 31-year-old Guidance and Counselling graduate of Adekunle Ajasin University, Alade Omowumi, has appealed to Nigerians for financial assistance to complete treatment for a congenital reproductive condition that has left her unable to menstruate normally.
Omowumi, according to an interview on The PUNCH, recounted years of recurring abdominal pain, multiple surgeries and complications, including difficulty controlling her urine. She said she needed another operation to create a vaginal opening and enable menstrual blood to flow normally.
The newspaper reported that Omowumi first experienced severe monthly abdominal pain at the age of 15. The pain lasted four to five days each month, but she did not seek medical attention until about three years later.
She told the newspaper that doctors initially discovered that she had never menstruated externally despite experiencing monthly pain. At a general hospital, she was informed that menstrual blood was accumulating internally because it could not flow out.
At 18, she underwent a medical examination ahead of surgery. However, doctors discovered that her vaginal canal was absent, meaning the procedure could not proceed as originally planned. She was subsequently scheduled for surgery to create a vaginal opening.
Omowumi explained that she had separate openings for urination and bowel movements, but lacked the vaginal opening through which women typically have sexual intercourse.
The next operation was scheduled for October 2, 2014. She said doctors created a vaginal opening, but it later became narrow, making penetration difficult or impossible.
She attributed the narrowing to her inability to use a vaginal dilator after the procedure because of severe pain, although she did not say she had received a definitive medical explanation for the complication.
The graduate also told The PUNCH that she began experiencing urinary incontinence after the operation. She said urine started leaking when a catheter was removed, a problem she had not experienced before the surgery.
Doctors had instructed her to undergo vaginal dilation, but the pain made the process difficult, while the urine leakage persisted. With hospital bills mounting, her mother eventually asked for her discharge. Omowumi said she left the hospital with a urine bag and was advised to return for follow-up appointments.
The operation also failed to restore normal menstrual flow. She told The PUNCH that blood came out only occasionally for a few months before stopping altogether.
On some occasions, she noticed blood while urinating, but the flow lasted briefly and did not become regular. Eventually, the bleeding stopped, and her abdomen began to swell as blood accumulated internally. She said doctors drained the accumulated blood during hospital visits.
Although another operation was proposed at the hospital, Omowumi said she was reluctant to return because she was dissatisfied with the outcome of the previous procedure and feared another complication.
She said the condition had persisted for about 14 or 15 years.
After visiting another hospital, she was told that further treatment was possible. According to her account to The PUNCH, doctors explained that they needed to repair her bladder and create a vaginal opening to allow menstrual blood to flow normally and make sexual intercourse possible.
The treatment, she said, would have to be carried out in stages because of complications from the earlier operation.
Omowumi disclosed that she underwent another surgery in September 2026 to address her urinary problem. She was discharged about one or two weeks before the interview and was awaiting recovery before the next procedure could be performed.
She said doctors had not provided a definite cost for the remaining surgery because the area treated in the recent operation needed time to heal and the final treatment plan had yet to be completed. She also noted that medical costs could change before the procedure took place.
A foundation had previously supported her treatment, she told The PUNCH. After her latest surgery, the woman in charge of the foundation sent her the remaining ₦500,000 for post-operative care.
However, Omowumi said she had received few new donations and still needed financial assistance. She added that further medical assessments would help determine the amount required for the next operation.
The condition has affected her social and personal life, she said. She recalled attempting sexual intercourse but stopping because of the pain, adding that she did not understand the reason for the difficulty at the time.
She also described her mother as her main source of support since her father’s death. For years, she kept her condition private, with few people in her neighbourhood aware of her situation.
Omowumi said she eventually decided to speak publicly because she had become exhausted by years of suffering and felt she needed to seek help despite the possibility of stigma.
“I cannot continue to suffer in silence simply because I am afraid of people’s reactions,” she told The PUNCH.
Since her story became public, she said, some people had posted hurtful comments online, prompting her to spend much of her time indoors. However, she said some long-term friends had expressed sympathy and encouraged her after learning about her condition.
She said doctors had explained that the condition developed while she was in her mother’s womb but was not detected at birth. It was only after she began experiencing monthly pain without menstrual bleeding that she sought medical attention.
Appealing for support, Omowumi said she hoped to complete her treatment, marry and have children.
“I want to live a normal life, get married and have children of my own,” she said, urging Nigerians to assist her financially and remember her in their prayers.
She said she remained hopeful that the necessary treatment and support would give her an opportunity to move forward with her life.
Discussion0