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The operation that was supposed to correct the inverted vertebra in the neck of Lester Domínguez, the young man from Holguín who was attacked with machetes in March 2023, could not take place, and his rehabilitation remains stagnant, as reported by his father Dennis Domínguez on Facebook.
In his post, Dennis explained that they already had all the necessary supplies for the surgery, but while they were waiting for a family member to bring more materials, time stretched on, and then the collapse of hospitals in Cuba occurred.
"The operation they were going to perform on the inverted vertebra in his neck could not take place. I can't say exactly where the responsibility lies, whether with the family or the doctors," he wrote.
Lester has been living with his aunt in the Luz neighborhood in Holguín for over a year because he has better living conditions there.
Her father stated candidly, "So far, I don't see any change or improvement in her progress."
The young man was attacked with a machete in March 2023, when he was 16 years old, by an assailant identified as Adrián Grass Bermúdez, who struck him in the neck to steal his cellphone.
The attack caused him an incomplete C5 spinal cord injury that left him in a wheelchair.
Since then, Lester has overcome the need for mechanical ventilation, a tracheotomy, and pressure sores, but he remains a C5 patient with severe mobility limitations.
On the third anniversary of the attack, in March 2026, there was some improvement in the upper body, but he still could not walk.
The surgery to correct the inverted vertebra— a condition that threatens to cause arthritis and hinder any progress in rehabilitation— has been postponed multiple times.
In August 2025, the doctors confirmed that Lester was in condition to undergo surgery. In October of that year, the family sought assistance to obtain an orthopedic minerva, an essential device for the procedure.
Similarly, in November, Hurricane Melissa once again delayed operations by causing damage to the hospital infrastructure.
Now, in June 2026, the complete collapse of the Cuban healthcare system adds to the list of obstacles.
The family has had to secure supplies and medications on their own due to the chronic shortages in the island's hospitals, a situation that reflects the deep deficiencies of a healthcare system deteriorated by decades of mismanagement.
The attacker, Adrián Grass Bermúdez, was arrested after Lester's phone was found buried in his yard.
The Prosecutor's Office requested 20 years in prison for the attack, plus an additional four years for the theft of phones from other victims.
The case generated widespread solidarity in Cuba and in the diaspora, including public support from the boxer Yordenis Ugás, who closely followed the young man's recovery.
Dennis Domínguez closed his post with a phrase that summarizes more than three years of waiting and faith: "Let us hope that he continues to improve, with God's grace and the doctors' help, and you who have followed and supported him in one way or another."
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