The Grandparents Travel to Varadero

Mati had been sick in bed for two months caused by a sciatic nerve pain; Yuclemen had had his intestinal flora ruined for years, prompting constant diarrheas, so it was sheer luck that both of them, my parents, happened to be in a rare period of good health when Valeria, Natacha, and I were getting ready to go to Cuba from New York. Mati and Yuclemen then, without any delay, made last minute reservations, got on a plane, and traveled from Peru to Cuba to meet Valeria, their granddaughter.

It took a lot of courage from both of them, whose health had been fragile, to make this trip, but they brought joy to us, and something unexpected, support to Valeria’s treatment.

My parents are about 70-years-old, and they had already gone through a big disappointment, wanting to travel when Valeria was born. They had been prepared for months to come to New York, but when the date approached, mom fell sick. Sadly, they had to cancel everything.

Months went by, and they didn’t know when they were going to meet their granddaughter; she wasn’t going to go Peru for the moment; her surgeries were the priority, but fortunately, close to the days we were traveling, sicknesses gave my parents a break, so they took the risk, and got on a plane.

After many hours of flying, a lay over in El Salvador, and a long drive from La Havana to Varadero, they finally met Valeria. Mom couldn’t let go of her granddaughter even though she had some muscle pain; and dad, whom I’ve always seen as a strict, tough person, was carrying and kissing Valeria. They didn’t get sick during the trip, on the contrary, they felt rejuvenated, doing a lot of activities by themselves, like touring in the hop-on hop-off buses, having exotic drinks at their hotel, and going to see the Tropicana show in La Havana days later.

They did what one has to do at an age when health becomes more unpredictable. They enjoyed the present; their health gave them an opportunity, and they took full advantage of it.

On our last day together in Varadero, they came up with a surprise; since they knew that the costs to treat Valeria’s mirror foot in Cuba were higher than expected, they offered their support. By telling us that they'd cover some part of the first surgery, they filled us up with joy and hope; they opened a slight opportunity to have a great surgeon in Cuba, and to have the help of Loly, the other grandmother.

Valeria's grandparents had traveled to Varadero, risking their health, to meet her, also to show that they were there for us. Valeria is fortunate to have such amazing grandparents, just as I'm fortunate to have such amazing parents.

Mati, Yuclemen, Valeria, and Natacha in Varadero

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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