The Mother-in-law

Natacha and I felt relieved after finding a good medical option in Cuba, but the reason that was weighing more in favor of the island had nothing to do with science but with love, the love to Valeria from Loly, her grandmother.

Loly, a very strong woman and in her fifties, lives on the east side of the country, in Bayamo, and was doing everything within her limited means to help us finding a doctor; she even traveled to La Havana in the back of load trucks to talk to doctors. Bus tickets are very scarce for nationals, unless one is willing to pay the price for foreigners of $50, which is way higher than the $15 monthly average salary.

 

Loly had heard of Dr. Salles through Jose Antonio, her partner of more than three decades, whose grandson had had one of his fingers accidentally cut off by a folding chair. The finger was put in ice, and Dr. Salles was able to reinsert it.

In our case, since the post surgery therapy for Valeria might take up to 8 weeks, she offered to take care of her granddaughter for that time; after all, it might be harder for Natacha and I to stay that long in Cuba.

I appreciated her help in finding a doctor, but I also appreciated her help with Valeria while visiting Cuba; for the first time in the 6 months, Natacha and I had someone to take care of the baby. “Is she awake?” She’d tell us early in the morning, wanting to take Valeria with her. “Go out, have fun,” she’d say to us; those were long awaited words we had been dreaming of on many sleepless nights. Loly would also pass her calmness and enthusiasm on to us; when I asked Natacha how I’d take a shower with only a hot bucket of water, she told her, “Show him, otherwise he’s going to end up like a boiled chicken.” Or she’d say things to us, but facing Valeria like, “we’re going to visit your mom in the loony house on Sundays if she keeps getting that nervous.”

Loly would cook amazing stews, fried delicious stakes, and tostones, and she’d even prepared rice pudding, my favorite desert, but I was told that after I left, and Natacha, and Valeria stayed for two more weeks, she limited her menu to mostly rice and beans.

The only time that Loly was a bit down was when we got the estimate from Dr. Salles for the surgery; it was much higher than expected; for Cubans this sort of surgery is almost free, but we were foreigners. 

Valeria was ever hardly away from Loly in La Havana

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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