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A Cuban reported having been experiencing “exactly three months” of symptoms attributed to chikungunya, with episodes of pain that she describes as unbearable and a lack of medication to alleviate it.
In a heartbreaking testimony, the internet user Eny Yamile Gómez Montoya stated that she spends sleepless nights feeling “that fire burning” in her bones and that the illness keeps her in a cycle of days that are “okay” and others that are “bad,” with relapses and new symptoms.
In her account, the woman claims that she has no medicines to ease the pain and that, when she manages to take an anti-inflammatory “once in a while,” the relief lasts barely “1 day,” before returning to her routine of discomfort.
“They are two days average and three or four bad, always surprising you with a new symptom or repeating ones but with the excruciating pain that doesn't let you move. This is no longer living, this is dying slowly, and one sacrifices themselves and every once in a while you take an anti-inflammatory and feel relief but that lasts for 1 day, and what about the rest?” writes.
The author of the testimony requests support and medications for Cuba and calls to avoid "criticism or debates," arguing that those who suffer the most are "the ones at the bottom" and that those who have received help "can endure the pain with less distress."
It also calls for empathy towards those who complain: “Do not change your gaze when you see someone complaining”, he states, while describing an emotional impact on their mood and self-esteem.
The message concludes with a prayer asking God for "a moment of peace" and to "heal" Cuba, asserting that the pain is "great" and that the situation "is slipping out of human control."
The testimony circulates as, according to the MINSAP report itself, there is an increase in chikungunya cases, with 466 new cases in one day (26 confirmed by PCR and 440 by clinical suspicion), in addition to 2,712 people reported with nonspecific febrile syndrome; 79.5% of those patients were being treated at home while 31,802 individuals remained hospitalized.
In that update, the Deputy Minister of Public Health, Carilda Peña García, stated that "what prevails is chikungunya" and provided additional epidemiological data, including vector control indicators.
He added that the behavior in newborns, infants, and other children up to 18 years old is still being evaluated, and explained that children in the infant stage are also getting sick, not only those related to the time of delivery.
According to their statement, critical cases remained stable under "very intense monitoring," with the goal of achieving discharge "without endangering life."
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