When pain becomes your new normal

A Bulawayo man says he is experiencing erectile dysfunction due to medication he is taking for a rare disease called Imperforate Anus, a type of birth defect called an anal malformation.

This disease doesn’t allow Tinotenda Mudarikwa (38), to pass stool properly. He had an operation in 2020 to alleviate this issue, however, his libido has decreased and he suspects that the pills he has been taking are the cause of his erectile dysfunction.

He founded an organisation called Rare Diseases and Disability Africa Zimbabwe, which has since crumbled and he suspects that this is due to spiritual reasons.

Mudarikwa, who grabbed headlines in recent years after a messy divorce, said he is worried that it is a bad omen which has affected his life such as his failed marriage, failed fatherhood and failed organisation.

“I can’t be suffering from Imperforate Anus, failed marriage, failed fatherhood, failed organisation and erectile dysfunction. This has got to be a bad omen.

“Imhepo, ijambwa here, I don’t know what’s wrong. My manhood is no longer functioning; it’s now been a long time and I suspect that it’s due to a lot of pills which I am taking.

“Some are saying maybe ndakaitirwa chivanhu. I was sexually active, but it has all changed. It pains me because I can’t move on. I need help from anyone who can help,” he said.

He said his Imperforate Anus condition had lessened after his operation in 2020.

“I had an operation in 2020 and I no longer mess myself the way I used to before that. I used to mess up in public, as the poo would just come. “My libido is now low; my feelings have disappeared. I suspect pills which I have been taking since 2020.

“Imaging taking 68 pills every day. I want to be a productive man, I want to be sexually active,” he said.

“I have had this Imperforate Anus problem since 1985 and I need a toilet close to me, because zvinogona kungobuda. I am appealing for help to help solve this problem,” he said.