A Cuban emigrant had to move her mother from Cuba to Mexico so she could undergo surgery, after the healthcare system in the Island was unable to perform the operation. The case, shared in a video posted on June 18 on TikTok by the content creator known as Lisy_vlogs (@elizabeth_guerra_guedes), also turned into an emotional reunion after four years of separation.
"I had to take my mom out of Cuba so she could have the surgery because it was impossible to perform it there," the young woman explained in the video, where she was also preparing for the trip with visible excitement.
According to the account, his mother suffered from several kidney stones, but no surgical options were viable in Cuba. After researching alternatives, he chose Mérida, Yucatán, as the destination: "I selected the city of Mérida because, in addition to finding the specialist she needed, it is considered one of the safest cities in the country," he detailed, a decisive factor given that the group was traveling with a baby.
The reunion at the Mexican airport, after four years apart, was captured on video. "There are hugs that heal, that fill the heart and make you feel at home again, and nothing compares to a mother's hug," she expressed upon arrival.
The author also reflected on what it means to emigrate and go through crucial stages of life without family support: "I became a mom far away from my mom, and those of us who have emigrated know how difficult it can be to experience such an important stage in our lives without having mom."
The case reflects a health crisis that the Cuban regime itself has acknowledged. In May 2026, the Ministry of Health admitted that about 100,000 patients, including 12,000 children, were waiting for surgical procedures due to power outages and shortages of supplies. The ministry ordered that surgical activities be limited to only urgent or unavoidable interventions.
The situation has led to images illustrating the collapse: doctors performed surgery in Havana in complete darkness, using mobile phones for light during a blackout, as documented in February 2026. In May, a Cuban mother was asking for help for her son with a brain tumor, as the operation was unfeasible on the Island due to a lack of resources and specialists.
Those who have family abroad and sufficient resources choose to seek medical care outside of Cuba, mainly in Mexico, Spain, or the United States. Mérida has established itself as a hub for medical tourism due to its private hospitals, available specialists, and relatively affordable costs.
The health crisis is compounded by a migration crisis: more than one million Cubans have left the Island since 2020, with over 250,000 departures recorded just in 2024. Family separations are prolonged for years, in part because the cost of return tickets can exceed 1,000 dollars. Emotional reunions have become a recurring phenomenon on social media; on June 1, Pedro Solano returned to Cuba after 20 years away and embraced his mother in another video that went viral.
In the case of Lisy_vlogs, the medical emergency expedited a reunion that otherwise might have taken much longer. "I have an emotion that I still can't believe: after four years without seeing my mom, we are finally going to reunite," she said before boarding the plane.
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