A compassionate group of Cubans has initiated a fundraising campaign to support Dailén, a 10-year-old girl from Sancti Spíritus, struggling with various health issues that require medications and medical treatments unavailable through Cuba's public health system.
Activists and civil society members, along with Cubans living abroad, are working to raise awareness of Dailén's critical condition, as she faces a host of illnesses for which there are "no medicines or procedures available in her country." She is afflicted with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease in its juvenile form and "urgently needs a multi-organ liver and kidney transplant, a procedure she can only access if she leaves her homeland, where all options have been exhausted," according to the GoFundMe appeal organized by journalists Mariela Feal and Mairelys Valdivia.
"Dailén wants to live, but her life is slipping away," reads the campaign's description, which aims to raise $20,000. These funds will first address her basic needs, including "an appropriate diet and essential care that cannot be provided at present." In the medium term, the campaign also intends to secure a humanitarian visa for Dailén and her family to travel to the United States, while exploring treatment options in Brazil, Uruguay, Spain, or Canada, as stated in the appeal.
The collected funds will cover medical, travel, and accommodation expenses that Dailén's family "cannot bear alone at this time." Besides the aforementioned disease, the young girl suffers from secondary arterial hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy, portal hypertension, esophageal varices, erythematous-hemorrhagic gastritis, severe splenomegaly, severe iron deficiency, liver cirrhosis, splenorenal shunts, bronchial asthma, and atopic dermatitis, her mother Danielly Aróstica revealed on social media last November. The mother lamented her inability to buy a can of milk for her daughter, despite her salary as a doctor.
Aróstica, "a doctor herself, paradoxically watches her daughter's life fade away each day, on the brink of kidney failure, unable to save her," the GoFundMe text states. The mother "has sold nearly everything to raise money and take her daughter away for treatment, but it hasn't been enough."
"Dailén and her family can find hope anywhere in the world willing to help them; they just need funds for travel, accommodations, and potential treatments, in addition to sustaining the child's needs, which require special diet and care," it asserts.
"We know her strength; she's a little girl with hope shining in her eyes, who has experienced more needles and hospital beds than the average person; who fights for her life without fully understanding the situation, as she dries her mother's tears, assuring her that she'll be okay... and that alone is enough for us to want to help," emphasizes the plea, which has started to gain traction on social media.
FAQs on Supporting Dailén's Medical Needs
What is the goal of the fundraising campaign for Dailén?
The goal is to raise $20,000 to cover Dailén's basic needs, including a suitable diet and essential care, as well as medical, travel, and accommodation expenses for potential treatment abroad.
What medical conditions does Dailén suffer from?
Dailén suffers from a range of conditions, including autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, secondary arterial hypertension, liver cirrhosis, and bronchial asthma, among others.
How can people contribute to Dailén's cause?
Contributions can be made through the GoFundMe campaign organized by Mariela Feal and Mairelys Valdivia, which aims to assist Dailén and her family in seeking treatment abroad.