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Rafael Ferradás left Cuba with his wife Yamika and their two daughters heading to Galicia, clinging to a final medical hope that was impossible on the island.
She was suffering from a serious heart condition and needed urgent intervention that the Cuban healthcare system could not guarantee. They arrived in Spain with hope, smiling photos, and the certainty that they were doing everything possible. But life had something else in store for them.
According to La Voz de Galicia, Yamika passed away at just 46 years old just days after arriving in Spain, without having had the chance to leave the hospital. She died in A Coruña after a series of medical emergencies that began even before reaching her final destination.
"My wife died as soon as we arrived. We are living a movie," Rafael confessed through tears to the Galician newspaper.
The family had left Cienfuegos driven by urgency. Yamika had an outdated cardiac device that could not be replaced in Cuba. The only available defibrillator belonged to a deceased person, and with that makeshift device, she managed to board the plane. They landed in Madrid on November 14 and took a train to Sarria, in Lugo, where a Cuban friend was waiting for them. They never arrived.
During the journey, Yamika began to feel unwell. A medical professional traveling on the train insisted on stopping in Ourense. She was urgently admitted to the ICU and later transferred to A Coruña. She passed away 33 days later, having never been able to start the life they had dreamed of in Galicia.
For Rafael, the blow was devastating. A widower in a new country, with two girls aged 8 and 16, and without even having had time to settle in.
However, the tragedy was accompanied by an unexpected network of solidarity. This is reported by La Voz de Galicia, which highlights how neighbors, friends, and strangers came together to support this Cuban family shattered by grief.
A real estate agent from Pontevedra, Agustín Pacheco, was instrumental from the very beginning. Rafael had contacted him from Cuba after reading the Galician newspaper he followed daily, looking to sell his house and emigrate.
When she learned about Yamika's illness, she decided to help. After her passing, she made the story public and sparked a wave of support.
In Sarria, a Cuban friend took in the girls, Caritas provided support, a funeral home covered the expenses without charging, and a local businessman offered Rafael a job so he could start over.
Today, the girls are already enrolled in school, and Rafael hopes to soon move into a home of his own as he begins to work. The material aspects seem to be falling into place. The other, the grief for a wife and a mother who could not survive, remains an open wound.
Stories like this bring to light the silent struggle of thousands of Cubans who emigrate not out of ambition, but out of necessity. They leave the country in search of something as essential as medical care and end up paying an irreparable price.
Yamika was unable to save herself, but her story reveals a reality that many both inside and outside of Cuba know all too well: when hope compels one to emigrate, it is sometimes already too late.
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