Emy Lucía Pérez is just seven months old and has spent practically her entire life hospitalized in the Intermediate Care Unit of the José Luis Miranda Provincial Pediatric Hospital in Santa Clara.
The official profile Soy Villa Clara shared an update about the little girl, whom they presented as an achievement of provincial healthcare. Her story, particularly touching due to the young age of the child, had already been shared previously.
At less than three weeks old, at the end of December 2025, Emy arrived in critical condition at the hospital's emergency room after suffering a severe respiratory complication.
The publication from Soy Villa Clara reports that the examinations revealed an ectopic thymus, a rare anomaly located in the neck that was compressing the baby's airways.
However, the previously published note identified the diagnosis as a hemangiopericytoma, an extremely rare soft tissue vascular tumor in childhood.
However, the seriousness of the situation required the small child to be operated on immediately and undergo a tracheotomy to ensure she could breathe.
Since then, her mother, Elizabet López, who lives in Placetas, has not left her side. For seven months, the two have turned a hospital room into their temporary home.
"I have been here since the girl was 17 days old, and it’s been seven months in this service, where I have found a family," the woman recounted.
Elizabet explained that she receives ongoing support from the medical and nursing staff and that she has learned to manage the tracheostomy to be able to take care of her daughter when she finally returns home.
"The girl has lacked nothing, and they have taught me how to manage the tracheostomy for when we go home," she stated.
Her words depict a reality that repeats itself with painful frequency in Cuba: mothers who suspend their daily lives and spend months alongside their children, surrounded by monitors, tubes, and medical treatments.
Emy's progress, however, offers reasons for hope. The little one has been gaining weight gradually and shows satisfactory development, according to the information released.
In June, Yusiley Marcelo Harman, the Deputy Director of Medical Assistance at the hospital, had described her recovery as favorable.
"The evolution of the little one has been favorable, as she has gained weight, maintains an appropriate percentile, and her mother is now ready to face the care at home," the specialist indicated.
Despite these advancements, the update from Soy Villa Clara indicates that Emy will remain hospitalized in Intermediate Care until she reaches her first birthday in December 2026.
When she is finally able to cross the hospital door, she will require complex care related to the tracheostomy. By then, her mother will have been preparing for almost a year to take on that responsibility.
The case of Emy is not the only one of its kind. Baby Marcos Sánchez Méndez, from Matanzas, has been hospitalized since February 25 with a severe brain malformation that also required a tracheotomy, while his mother Roxana has been sleeping in a hospital chair for over four months, separated from her other three children.
In June, another mother from Santa Clara reported that her seven-month-old son has been hospitalized since birth at the José Luis Miranda Hospital due to alleged medical negligence during delivery that resulted in cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
And in December, baby Yoseily Miranda Rojas had been hospitalized in Camagüey for 10 months due to a metabolic disorder with no available treatment in Cuba.
These stories share a common thread: babies who spend their first months of life surrounded by monitors and tubes, and mothers who accompany them in an endless vigil, exhibiting a strength that no healthcare system should have to demand of them.
Related videos:
Filed under: