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A Facebook post shared this Sunday calls for solidarity with Miriam Joaquina Almanza Milanés, the mother of a young man who is deaf, blind, and mute, and whom doctors have given between five months to a year to live, living in conditions of extreme hardship in Manzanillo, Granma.
The author of the post, Susana Napoles, identified the young man as José Antonio Cortés Almanza and urged anyone who can help to go directly to the family's address: Calle 4ta number 5, between 5ta Avenida and Cañada, Reparto Horacio Rodríguez, Manzanillo.
"Let's help this mother. She lives under precarious conditions and needs any type of assistance," she wrote.
The photographs accompanying the publication show a cinder block house without plaster, with a concrete floor and clothes hanging on hangers.
There is also a worn-out wheelchair with makeshift repairs made of cloth, and the young man with abdominal bandages lying on a bed.
The comments on the post confirmed the situation from different perspectives. One neighbor wrote: “She is a very worried mother and I have seen her going from house to house looking for medicine for her son; it’s very sad.”
A former teacher recognized the young man: "José was my student at the school for the deaf in Bayamo, seeing him like this breaks my heart. May God have mercy and pour healing over his life."
A relative also reacted to the post. "I know her, she's my cousin, we lived in Cayo Espino, but I haven't heard from her in many years. I did know that the boy was in very poor condition, but I never imagined," wrote someone identifying themselves as Olmer Beltrán Ricardo.
Another neighbor corroborated what was described: "I am a neighbor, and they are indeed in those conditions; it's sad and painful."
The case reflects the situation faced by thousands of Cuban families with members who have disabilities amid the humanitarian crisis that the island is experiencing.
The Cuban regime acknowledged that it does not have enough wheelchairs to meet the demand: the Minister of Industries, Eloy Álvarez Martínez, publicly admitted the deficit, and the State only plans to distribute 2,000 units nationwide during 2026.
In the province of Granma, scarcity is particularly acute. Last February, international organizations donated about 200 wheelchairs in Granma to fill the gap left by the State, a number that is insufficient given the magnitude of the need.
The shortage of equipment is compounded by the collapse of the health system: according to UN data, are completely out of stock in 2026, and essential medications are only available at 30% of the usual supply levels.
Social media has become the main channel of solidarity for Cuban families in extreme vulnerability, in the absence of an effective state response.
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