Trusting a doctor in shorts

If there were an upper middle class in Cuba, it’d live at El Vedado.

Unlike Old Havana, which is falling apart, El Vedado is well kept, and that’s where Natacha, Valeria, and I went to meet Dr. Salles for our first visit at his apartment.

The meeting was informal, and that explains why Dr. Salles received us at night, wearing shorts and sandals; he was strongly recommended to us, so his fashion preferences was something that we could overlook.

Dr. Salles, a man in his mid-forties, almost bold, but in good shape, wasn’t charging us for the visit; still I was aware of the Cuban tradition of giving doctors a little thank you gift. I had got him a 16 GB flash drive because that’s what people mainly use to trade movies, pictures, and music due to the lack of Internet. Those whom I had given flash drives, as gifts, were very grateful.

He first checked Valeria’s hands, and said,  “With the extra index fingers, I’ll create the thumbs”. For Natacha and I, it was great news; he was confirming what Dr. Miki, in Miami, had told us a few days before; although using another technique. “Just to be clear,” he added, “they won’t be perfect looking thumbs, but she’ll be able to grasp things. I’d wait until she’s two year old to operate those though,” he said.

Valeria was oblivious to all the plans we were foreseeing for her; she was having fun pulling Dr. Salles hair of his legs.

“Her right foot won’t be complicated, but the mirror foot is going to require more work,” he said. “Her feet could be done right after she turns one,” he added. “Why not all together,” Natacha asked. “Because I want to see how the hands develop; right now it’s too early to tell,” he responded. “Still, there will definitely be more than two surgeries, maybe four all together.”

He then got an iPhone, and took pictures of her feet and hands. If I had thought I was going to surprise him with the flash drive, he rather surprised me with his iPhone, which is a device I ignored they could have in Cuba. When I gave him my gift, he wasn’t impressed.

We agreed to call him the day after to get an estimate now that he had an idea of what needed to be done. We felt confidence that he could perform the surgery, but logistics had to be considered; going to Cuba four times in a short period of time might prove difficult.

Valeria and her grandmother Loly in La Havana