Cuban anesthesiologist Juan Miguel Cruz Rojas, 59 years old, died on Tuesday after suffering a motorcycle accident on a road in Guatemala, where he had built his life and developed an extensive professional career for more than a decade.
The accident occurred at kilometer 107.8 of the road connecting Taxisco with Guazacapán, in the department of Santa Rosa, according to the newspaper La Hora.
According to reports from the rescue teams, Cruz Rojas lost control of his motorcycle and fell onto the asphalt. The impact caused him internal trauma that ultimately proved fatal.
Municipal Firefighters from ASONBOMD arrived at the scene aboard unit AD-155 and, due to the seriousness of the situation, began transporting the individual to the National Hospital of Escuintla.
The doctor, however, did not manage to arrive alive at the hospital. He died along the way when the ambulance was at kilometer 83.5, in the village of Las Flores, Brito, Escuintla.
The news caused dismay among colleagues and health institutions where the Cuban specialist had worked for years.
The Departmental Direction of Integrated Health Services Networks of Santa Rosa issued a bulletin expressing sorrow over the death of the "doctor and anesthesiologist, originally from the country of Cuba, who worked at the CAIMI of Chiquimulilla from the DDRISS of Santa Rosa."
More than a decade serving patients in Guatemala
Cruz Rojas had been linked to the Guatemalan healthcare system for over a decade. Since 2015, he had worked at the Maternal and Child Comprehensive Care Center (CAIMI) in Chiquimulilla, although he had previously also provided medical services in Escuintla.
Over the years, his relationship with Guatemala transcended the professional realm. The anesthesiologist obtained Guatemalan nationality without renouncing his Cuban citizenship and established his family life there, a situation that set him apart from the professionals who remained in the country as part of the medical brigade sent by Havana.
The Sanatorio San Rafael, where he also worked as an anesthesiologist, remembered the doctor for his involvement in numerous surgical procedures and for the bonds he formed with patients and colleagues.
"It was part of our team and accompanied us in countless surgical procedures, always providing its knowledge and dedication to care for our patients," expressed the institution.
“Today we bid farewell not only to an excellent professional, but also to a human being who left a special mark on those of us who had the opportunity to work by his side,” he added.
He is survived by his wife, Claudia Morales Bolaños; his children Diana Sofía, Julio Reynaldo, and Juan Miguel; and his parents, Juan Domingo Cruz and Esther Rojas.
His burial was scheduled for this Thursday at 10:00 AM at the general cemetery, following the wake at the Santísima Trinidad Chapels in Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla.
Cruz Rojas passed away at the age of 59 after spending more than a decade practicing medicine in Guatemala, the country that ultimately became his home, where colleagues, patients, and family now bid farewell to a Cuban professional remembered for his work and dedication.
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