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Marcos Sánchez Méndez is five months old and still cannot realize that most of his short life has been spent in a hospital room.
Since February 25, this baby from Guásimas, in the municipality of Cárdenas, has been admitted to the Pediatric Hospital of Matanzas following a medical emergency that nearly cost him his life.
Her story is also touching because of the strength of her mother, Roxana, who has been living almost entirely in the center for over four months, sleeping in a chair, with a sore body and a heart torn between that baby and her other three young children left at home.
It all began unexpectedly. Marquitos —as they affectionately call him— was born seemingly healthy and was discharged without any symptoms.
But at 12 days old, Roxana noticed that something was wrong: the baby was crying incessantly, refusing to breastfeed, and showing signs of stomach discomfort.
"He, who is such a glutton," the mother recalls with a mix of tenderness and anguish. Soon after, the first convulsions arrived.
"It was a desperate time; I only turned to pray to the heavens and entrusted my child to the wisdom of the doctors," Roxana recounts from the Intermediate Therapy room, where she has remained for more than four months.
Medical studies revealed the diagnosis: an intraventricular hemorrhage caused by a malformation of the vein of Galen, which led to obstructive hydrocephalus.
Dr. Zuraida Rivera Díaz, a specialist in Pediatrics who is managing the case, explains that the severity of the situation necessitated keeping the baby on a ventilator for two and a half months, which made a tracheotomy necessary.
This was compounded by a severe nutritional deterioration exacerbated by lactose intolerance.
Dr. Rivera Díaz recalls those weeks vividly: "It was a battle lasting days and weeks that kept the entire medical team on edge, until she began to gain weight and we felt as if we had won a great victory."
However, the galena hints at a hopeful outcome: "Soon you will be able to return home and live life normally."
"The first months were difficult, filled with total uncertainty and fear for my son's health. He was reported as critical, not responding to any stimuli," Roxana describes.
Today, Marquitos is undergoing rehabilitation with physiotherapists. The immediate goal is to achieve decannulation, which means removing the tracheostomy tube. He is already able to eat small portions, a progress that his mother celebrates as a tremendous victory.
Meanwhile, Roxana endures that endless vigil with her body pushed to the limit. The back pain and swollen feet have become her new normal.
"I can say I no longer have ribs or a cervical," he jokes, although the sigh that follows reveals how difficult it is to maintain the smile.
Her situation is especially heartbreaking because in Guásimas—a small rural town a considerable distance from Matanzas—her other three children are waiting for her, having seen their mother only briefly in these past months.
Roxana is able to visit them from time to time, but she can never stay out of the hospital for more than one night.
This mother, who has turned that hospital chair into her temporary home, is already envisioning the day her baby will leave the ward behind.
"It's a great challenge that life has given me, but I've never felt alone. Very soon, thanks to the unconditional support of so many people from this hospital, my little Marquito will overcome and come back home with his siblings," she remarked.
The pediatric hospital in Matanzas has faced serious structural difficulties in recent months, ranging from publicly reported hygiene conditions to a dump located a block away from the center that raised health alarms.
In that context, the history of this family takes on even greater significance.
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