"My mother died within a few hours": The heartbreaking testimony of a daughter in the midst of the arboviral epidemic in Cuba

“She was gone in a few hours.” This is how a daughter summarizes the final moments of her mother, Bárbara Fleites Valdez, a 59-year-old woman who died on December 15 in Caibarién, Villa Clara, after experiencing symptoms consistent with arbovirosis, amid an epidemic that continues to claim lives in Cuba.

The testimony was shared on social media by political prisoner and 11J protester Carlos Michael Morales Rodríguez and quickly began to circulate as a cry for help.

According to the family account, Bárbara woke up the day before, Sunday, December 14, feeling very unwell, with a yellowish tint to her face and alarming signs on her feet. Although she didn't want to go to the doctor, her children decided to take her to the hospital upon noticing the evident deterioration of her condition.

At the health center, they say she was only prescribed fluids for hydration and was sent back home despite still feeling unwell. Hours later, the pain intensified, especially in her kidneys, and the family returned to the municipal hospital with her.

There, she received intravenous hydration again, but there were no painkillers available to relieve her pain. Given the seriousness of her condition, the on-call doctor decided to refer her to the provincial hospital in Santa Clara, although there was no ambulance available to transport her.

The wait extended into the night. When a vehicle with paramedics finally arrived, the decision was made to transfer a younger patient who had been in an accident. Bárbara remained hospitalized in Caibarién. Around six in the morning, she passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The family reports that this is the second confirmed case of death from this epidemic in the city. At the end of November, a baby just two months old died in Remedios after being hospitalized, as reported on social media by his aunt, journalist Belkis Flores. Stories like these stand in stark contrast to the official narrative that insists on downplaying the true impact of the outbreak.

This testimony adds to other recent accounts that have shaken public opinion. Days ago, the story of a mother who gave birth to her baby in the midst of a chikungunya outbreak was revealed.

The newborn faced respiratory complications, clotting disorders, and critical days in intensive care before achieving a favorable outcome. "They were sleepless days," the mother confessed, describing the anguish of watching her child struggle between life and death.

While health authorities acknowledge dozens of deaths from chikungunya and dengue and speak of a "slight improvement," the testimonies emerging from hospitals and Cuban homes depict a different reality, where a lack of medication, impossible transfers, medical decisions influenced by scarcity, and families feeling that they arrived too late define the trend.

For many Cubans, both on and off the island, the death of Bárbara Fleites is not just another statistic. It is the human face of an epidemic that continues to spread and a healthcare system on the brink, where waiting, lack, and official silence weigh as heavily as the virus itself.