Cubaverdad

They Kill You and They Don't Pay You / Rebeca Monzo

Rebeca Monzo, Translator: Unstated

Again the topic of health in the former medical power occupies me. Of

course, you only know of these incidents through close friendships or

relatives who have gone through these critical moments.

About twenty days ago, my cousin urgently had to go to the hospital

closest to her house. She accidentally fell in her patio at home and

fractured her hip. When she arrived at the National Hospital, by

fortunate coincidence she ran into a doctor who is a very close friend,

almost like family. While she waited on the stretcher talking with her

physician friend for entertainment, a family member, who came with her

in the ambulance, went home to pick up bedding, a bucket, an electric

blanket, jars of water, a pillow and fan, among other things, that one

is required bring in order to be admitted, and if you want minimal

sanitary conditions.

He told her that for several days he had barely left the hospital

because his sister had recently had surgery and was in a delicate state

of health. He confessed that the first operation to which she submitted,

about 20 days earlier, was to remove a malignant tumor. Two or three

days after that intervention, she still had a lot of serious pain, so

they took her to the operating room again for another surgery because

they had left gauze inside her, causing an infection and unending pain.

Again, two days later she returned with the same pain and fever. A third

intervention was necessary and this time he accompanied the surgeon, a

friend of his through others, and saw when he himself extracted some

forceps that had been left inside. As a colleague and friend, he did not

want to complicate matters and he swept it under the rug in order not to

create problems.

Regrettably, there are many cases of medical negligence like this one

that happen,but we only find out when someone close to us is involved in

some way. It is not surprising, either, that doctors make mistakes. When

it comes to compromising the life or health of a human being, these are

unforgivable. Seemingly the great majority of Cubans are victims of the

syndrome of forgetfulness due to the accumulation of personal problems

that overwhelm us. It is not in our power to solve all these problems,

which forcefully assault us daily, making us commit all kinds of

mistakes in any activity. In terms of the medical sector, the majority

of such mistakes are irreversible. But if they kill you, they don't have

pay you.

September 17 2012

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