Last Thursday night, a flight took off from Havana that many had been anticipating for months: the one that finally took Yanaris Charlette and her daughter, Brianna Charlette Blanco, to Spain for a surgery that proved impossible to perform in Cuba.
The announcement on Facebook was made by the activist Lara Crofs, who accompanied the entire process and described it as "the flight of hope."
After eight months of relentless efforts, knocking on doors at hospitals in various countries and searching for alternatives amidst numerous rejections, mother and daughter were finally able to board the plane that symbolizes a real opportunity for healing.
Both arrived in Madrid on Friday and from there they departed for Valencia, where the younger one will undergo surgery and treatment. She will have her first medical appointment next Monday.
Crofs described a moment that deeply resonated with all the women involved in this struggle: Yanaris's embrace before leaving. It was not just a gesture of gratitude, but the relief of a mother who finally sees a light for her daughter after years of pain, failed interventions, and devastating forecasts. "It was an embrace filled with hope and dreams yet to be fulfilled," she wrote.
For Crofs, this display of affection also renewed energies and reaffirmed that solidarity remains the driving force that supports Cubans when institutions do not respond.
A story marked by a girl's resilience and a mother's perseverance
Brianna, 10 years old, has been burdened with a thyroglossal cyst with a fistulous tract since she was three. She has undergone three surgeries in Cuba; all were unsuccessful. After each procedure, the lesion reappeared.
The tumor affects the tongue and extends towards the throat, compromising functions such as swallowing, breathing, and speaking. His voice began to deteriorate due to the compression of the vocal cords, and his health worsened with episodes of choking and malnutrition.
In January, Cuban doctors confirmed what the mother already suspected: in the country, there are no resources, supplies, or technology to operate with the precision this case requires.
They handed him the written diagnosis. The phrase "surgical procedure is not feasible" marked the end of all hopes within the Cuban healthcare system.
Then Yanaris decided to break the silence and ask for public help. Videos, messages, interviews: everything necessary to expose the situation. She did not do it to draw attention, but because she feared that the tumor would grow to completely block her daughter’s airway.
The solidarity that crossed borders
The activist Saily González organized a fundraising campaign from the United States. Over $6,900 was raised in just a few months, but the total amount needed for the operation, estimated at $32,000, was still far from being met.
Furthermore, there was the second obstacle: obtaining the humanitarian visa. Amid the current restrictions in the United States, the process turned into another labyrinth that seemed to have no way out.
Nevertheless, donations continued to come in. Each contribution helped keep the campaign alive. A specialized hospital in Miami announced it would accept the case, but ultimately, on November 11, Brianna and her mom received visas to travel to Spain, where she will receive treatment.
The path, which seemed impossible, began to clear thanks to dozens of anonymous hands that would not resign themselves to the girl's suffering
"None of this would have been possible without every person who donated, who shared, who raised awareness, who cared, who believed... We have been part of another chain of solidarity that allowed a 10-year-old girl, who lived in fear of not waking up due to a lack of air, of swallowing, and of simply drinking water, to have a real opportunity to heal today," said Saily on Facebook.
The other side of the story: why this journey should not be a miracle
The relief over Brianna's departure is accompanied by a bitter realization: in Cuba, more and more families can only hope to save their children by sending them abroad.
The shortcomings of the healthcare system—such as the lack of supplies, basic resources, outdated equipment, and the deterioration of entire hospitals—have turned what should be a right into a challenge that can only be overcome with external assistance.
The Cuban doctors, who did their best with what they had, recognized that the case exceeded the current capabilities of the system.
And this is not an isolated case. There are many patients who rely on travel, fundraising, special visas, and the goodwill of strangers to receive treatments that, in other countries, are part of routine medical services.
That reality became even more visible thanks to stories like Brianna's, which reveal how precarious conditions force people to seek outside what no longer exists or functions within.
A flight that symbolizes something more
The joy at Brianna's departure is immense. It is not an end, but the beginning of a new opportunity: the possibility for a girl who has grown up amidst pain to finally find relief.
But it also marks a collective victory. A demonstration of the power of solidarity when institutions fail; a reminder that the unity of hundreds of people can pave a path where there were once only walls.
Lara Crofs summarized it as a small victory that brings us closer to the Cuba that many dream of. Because, despite poverty, scarcity, and barriers, there is still a network of Cubans determined to lend a hand where the system no longer reaches.
Today, Brianna embarks on the life she deserves. And that achievement belongs, above all, to the people who came together to save her.
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