A Cuban baby nine months old has been waiting for a surgery since he was three months old, which, according to his mother, has not been able to take place because a necessary MRI to assess his condition is still pending. The woman asserts that the growth of a lesion on his nose is already severely hindering his breathing.
Sarita Fuentes made the situation public last Friday on Facebook, after months of efforts with Public Health institutions in Guantánamo without achieving, according to her testimony, the necessary study.
The boy's name is Joshuá Mylam and he is nine months old. His mother explained that he has what she described as a nasal lipoma and an intracranial lipoma, and that the doctors need an MRI to determine if the intracranial lesion has increased in size before proceeding with the intervention.
"The child should have had surgery since he was 3 months old," Fuentes stated.
According to his account, the MRI has not been performed because the responsible institutions told him that there is no fuel to transport the baby from Guantánamo to Villa Clara, where the exam was supposedly supposed to take place.
The mother claims to have repeatedly approached the Maternal and Child Care Program (PAMI), government authorities, and Provincial Health, but insists that the responses are the same without any solution being provided.
"Every time I go to these places, they tell me that the MRI will be done next week. It's all lies and more lies," he reported.
Fuentes also mentioned having received information that the existing MRI machine in Guantánamo is operational and that they are reportedly charging 25,000 pesos for conducting studies.
"As the child's mother, I am not going to give a cent for something that belongs to my child," she stated.
The woman's greatest concern is Joshuá's breathing. As she described, the nasal injury has increased in size until it completely occupies one of his nostrils.
"It's a high-risk baby, a child who that ball he has in his nose doesn't even let him breathe. There are nights when I can't sleep because my child is practically without oxygen," she recounted.
The mother noted that the episodes worsen when the child shows respiratory symptoms and expressed fear that he might suffer an emergency before the surgery can be performed.
“Are they waiting for the child to experience respiratory distress?” he questioned while reporting that the injury “has already affected the entire nasal cavity.”
A day later, Fuentes published again about the case and claimed that her demands are not recent, but rather part of an ongoing effort since the child's birth.
"Here is the proof that I have never given up, that I am a mother who simply fights for her child's right," she expressed.
In that second post, she stated that she has spent almost the entire nine months of the baby's life unable to rest due to concern for his condition.
Fuentes also expressed concern about the intracranial injury. According to the information they claim to have received about the case, the MRI would determine if that lipoma has grown before the baby's fontanelle closes completely.
He also revisited the contradictory reports regarding fuel. According to him, government officials had indicated that fuel was indeed available, while sources from PAMI were assuring him otherwise.
"Then, who should we believe?" he questioned.
Fuentes' concern takes on particular seriousness in light of recent cases of minors who have had to wait months for interventions.
"I have knocked on doors and none have opened," he lamented. He added, "As long as I have life, my son will not lack attention."
In March, baby Darwin Daniel Sotolongo Cedres, 10 months old, passed away in Camagüey after being hospitalized for several months without receiving the surgery he needed for a serious respiratory condition.
Her mother had reported that the healthcare system lacked the necessary resources and specialists to carry out the intervention.
Pediatric surgical difficulties are part of a nationally recognized issue acknowledged by the authorities themselves.
In July, Vice Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz admitted that over 100,000 people were on waiting lists for surgery and that slightly more than 10,000 were children awaiting an operation.
Weeks later, Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly acknowledged that over 100,000 surgeries were still pending and linked the delays to blackouts and the lack of fuel to keep the backup power plants of hospitals operational, although he primarily attributed the deterioration of healthcare to the sanctions from the United States.
Related videos:
Filed under: