Christian Maître recounts his wife’s time in a precarious hospital in Santa Clara after suffering from appendicitis
14ymedio, Madrid, 25 April 2024 — “Sadly, for us, Cuba is over. I am sure that the world is full of very beautiful places to see.” This is how Christian Maître, a Canadian from the city of Shawinigan, in the province of Quebec, expresses himself in an interview with the radio station Ici . His vacation on the island was about to end when, one day before his return, scheduled for April 4, his wife suffered a sudden abdominal pain that changed everything.
Caroline Tétrault had lost her mother in mid-March, a victim of cancer. The whole family had planned a trip to Cuba at the end of that month they decided to go, expressly, in tribute to his wife. In total, 22 people enjoyed the trip without any major inconveniences other than the shortage of some foods. Until April 3, when Caroline began to complain of severe abdominal pain, which was initially dismissed.
Rest could not calm the discomfort, so they notified the hotel doctor, who referred them to a “small hospital” in Cayo Santa María. The diagnosis was very quick: in 10 minutes it was decided to transfer her to Santa Clara, where she had to undergo surgery for appendicitis.
Caroline Tétrault had lost her mother in mid-March, a victim of cancer
“The ambulance trip was very unpleasant, because she felt unbearable pain and the discomfort was total,” says Maître in statements to Le Nouvelliste. But the arrival was not much better. The tourists have not revealed the hospital to which they were taken, but from the videos they took inside everything indicates that it is the Arnaldo Milián, also known as the new hospital by the people of Santa Clara, who go there to undergo some examinations and analyses, because it the largest hospital and the one with the most resources in the province.
For Canadians, however, the impression was devastating. The place seemed disused and without light, they point out. “Finally we reached an illuminat
