Yeison Aliet Mora Polanco is now almost fully recovered.

• A few days ago, a post by a grateful mother thanking the medical team that saved her son’s life went viral, garnering thousands of reactions on social media. Today, 26 shares the story…

A sharp pain on the left side of her chest warned Ivet that something serious was wrong with her son. Even though he is now 11 years old, she is always vigilant, and her maternal instinct kicks in just as it did when, as a tiny two-month-old, her baby was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and underwent surgery.

Abdominal pain on the left side set off alarm bells. She took him to the polyclinic in her municipality, Manatí, several days in a row. They ran tests, performed ultrasounds, and began treating him for a parasitic infection. But a few days later, his condition had worsened significantly.

A concerned pediatrician ordered new tests and urgently referred him to the regional hospital. “He said it was the catheter, and he was right.”

Ivet doesn’t know where the ambulance came from, but within a few hours, she was at the Mártires de Las Tunas Pediatric Hospital. Memories now come to her in flashes because she has accumulated so much fear, but there are faces she will never forget.

“The care was wonderful from the very first moment. The on-call surgeons recognized him right away and admitted him to the operating room. I can assure you that everyone—from the nurses and doctors to the orderlies—took an interest in my son’s health; they made us feel that we mattered to them all."

“In the midst of despair, that kind of care is priceless. On March 11, they performed another ultrasound on the child and sent for the neurosurgeon from Ernesto Guevara Hospital. The doctor arrived with part of his team, and they assessed the case. Those were tough days…"

“The next day, they ordered a CT scan at ‘Guevara.’ An ambulance took us there and brought us back. Some people were always on top of the case and took care of every detail. Thank goodness, because I couldn’t think straight at all."

“On the 13th, my son spent the day lying down and drowsy, with a terrible headache. No painkillers could relieve it. His little eyes were barely open. Desperate, I sent for the neurologist, and he came quickly. He told me he was going to operate on him that very day. They performed a lumbar puncture, an eye exam…"

“That afternoon, the boy was worse. The headache was unbearable, and he was vomiting. They shaved his head completely. I was so afraid of losing him; it broke my heart to see him almost unconscious. Words cannot describe what I was feeling…"

“When they took him into the operating room, I begged Dr. Antonio to take good care of him, and he told me he was already in good hands.”

FROM THE CROSSROADS OF PAIN TO HOPE

Ivet Polanco Milán, still haunted by the anguish of the past few days, tells me that her son’s surgery was supposed to last 40 to 45 minutes but took nearly three hours. Later, she learned that the catheter they had intended to use didn’t work, and they had to find another one at Guevara Hospital.

For Dr. Antonio Pérez Banega, a first-degree specialist in neurosurgery, this case is not very different from others. With the details still fresh in his mind, he looks back on those days in March.

“The child underwent surgery for hydrocephalus secondary to meningoencephalitis before the age of one,” the doctor explains. “At the time, he underwent a ventriculoperitoneal shunt procedure. On this occasion, he arrived at the hospital with systemic spread; the hydrocephalus was active because these patients depend on the valve.”

“He arrived with a malfunctioning catheter. The boy had already grown, the catheter had become blocked, and we had to rush him to the operating room to replace it; we created a new shunt, this time on the left side. The surgery was a success, and the boy remains symptom-free.”

The doctor tells me that this is a fairly common condition in pediatrics, but that it can sometimes become complicated.

For Ivet and her son, Dr. Antonio’s hands and the entire team of doctors and nurses were a blessing, allowing them to be back home today.

“He feels fine now, although he’s still very skinny, but the wounds are healing well. He keeps himself entertained as best he can with his phone. He doesn’t watch TV because there’s seldom any power, and he can’t do much else. His life depends on that valve, and we have to take care of him as if he were made of glass.”
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The way this family chose to express their gratitude was through a Facebook post. In these difficult times, when the economy casts a shadow over everything, and people close their hearts and ears, the reactions and comments on this story have served as a reminder that even in these mixed circumstances, a child's life here remains priceless.