The Cuban mother Ivonne Galiano has appealed for help for her daughter, who needs surgery after accidentally ingesting a strong chemical substance.
Nine-year-old Ivana requires esophageal replacement surgery, a procedure that "is not being performed in Cuba at the moment," her mother stated on Facebook.
Galiano explained that in January 2018, the young girl ingested a strong chemical product that led to esophageal stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of the muscular tube that carries food and liquids from the mouth to the stomach.
He reported that in his native province of Guantánamo, they began to perform dilations, and upon not getting favorable results, through personal efforts, they traveled to Havana to seek treatment for the girl at the William Soler Pediatric Hospital.
In the capital city's healthcare facility, they performed 40 more dilations, but once again without favorable results.
"The esophagus could not be stabilized, leading to the decision to stop the dilation process in June 2023, and by December of that year, due to a lack of observed improvements, the medical board decided to remove her from the dilation program," Galiano explained.
Currently, little Ivana has been without treatment for eight months "because the next step would be an esophageal replacement, which is not being performed in Cuba at the moment," said her mother. "I need help to get the girl operated on; I have exhausted all options in my country."
The desperate mother recounted that the girl currently feeds only on blended puree through a gastric button "because consuming food normally by mouth could lead to choking and death," she lamented.
Many parents in Cuba endure the agony of watching their children suffer from illness while being unable to find surgical solutions due to the shortage of medications and medical supplies caused by the regime.
Such was the case of the Cuban boy Jordan Daniel Montero Solano, who was born without an esophagus and underwent surgery after 13 years of receiving excuses and delays from the authorities.
The minor underwent surgery on February 21 at the Holguín Pediatric Hospital, and after recovering, his first meal was rice with black beans, sweet potato, and meat.
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