Mother of Damir Denounces Cuban Doctors on TV: "They Were Letting Him Die"

Eliannis Ramírez, mother of the Cuban child Damir Ortiz, made a bold statement this Monday during a press conference at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami, Florida, accusing doctors on the island of neglecting her son's critical health needs. Ramírez confirmed that she had indeed authorized a biopsy, but claimed the diagnosis was incorrect, and subsequent treatments were conducted under medical pressure. "They were letting him die," she asserted in a broadcast by Martí Noticias.

Ramírez emphasized that the doctors shown on Cuban Television never provided direct care to her son. She recounted the series of medical negligences Damir had suffered in Cuba since infancy, expressing regret for realizing the truth too late. "I protested alongside Diasniurka Salcedo Verdecia in 2023 at the Ministry of Public Health when Damir was already eight, and it's thanks to her that I began to see the light, the whole truth, and how poorly my son had been treated since birth," she reflected. This statement indicates a longstanding relationship with the activist, who has been committed to the child's welfare for years.

Since she began publicly denouncing her son's case on social media, Ramírez claimed the regime abandoned Damir's care. She revealed that her son would soon undergo surgery on his left eye—the only one with vision—and lamented that he would lose it due to medical errors, inadequate treatments, and infections contracted within the Cuban healthcare system. "It's the MINSAP's fault that my son has to lose his eye," she stated firmly in front of several journalists.

During the press conference, she contrasted the care her son received at a Miami hospital with that in Havana, noting that Damir no longer had the bedsores he arrived with from Cuba. "The child is improving, gaining strength, is conscious, responds to me, watches cartoons; he is improving because he now has specific treatment," she highlighted. Despite her criticisms, she also expressed gratitude to some Cuban nurses who dedicated themselves to Damir's care, mentioning that one even resigned due to the hospital's conditions.

Ramírez condemned the regime for falsely claiming to have medications like Tramadol and artificial tears available for her son, as she herself had to find them. While she had to cover some medical expenses, she expressed gratitude for the donations from generous individuals that enabled her child to receive necessary medical attention, showcasing the empathy and support received during challenging times.

She also voiced her fears for the safety of her younger son, who remains in Cuba, and her mother. Although committed to Damir's well-being in the U.S., she acknowledged concerns about potential repercussions if she stayed in the country, following a media campaign against her after revealing her son's medical mishandling.

"I never consented to my son's case being shown on Cuban Television," Ramírez reiterated, exposing the regime's violation of her family's privacy. "None of the doctors who appeared on TV personally attended to my son, none examined him, none did anything," she accused, demonstrating the Cuban regime's manipulation in Damir's case. She emphasized that while in Miami, no Cuban doctors featured on television contacted her for authorization or updates on Damir. "They waited for me to leave Cuba to speak about me," she said. "They avoided mentioning his name, but eventually did, and Damir is my son."

Regarding statements by Dr. Araiz Consuegra Otero, director of the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, Ramírez publicly denounced her for attempting to blame her for Damir's critical condition upon arriving in the U.S. "She claimed I was responsible for my son's deteriorated condition because I didn't authorize a biopsy," the courageous mother stated, adding, "I had ample reasons not to allow that biopsy."

Sending a powerful message to the Cuban people, she explained, "I didn't allow it because of all the harm they did to my son. The last straw were two bone marrow tests that yielded no results due to Dr. Isabel's poor processing, a pathologist at Juan Manuel Márquez, leaving my son without a diagnosis in that hospital." Cuban Television did not clarify, in their attempt to manipulate Damir's case, that the biopsy was indeed performed after the child was transferred to the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery. "Dr. Orestes, the director, knows a biopsy of the head lesion was performed, and another bone marrow test was done at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery by hematologists Gustavo and Martiniano, who gave me a false acute leukemia diagnosis in less than 24 hours," Ramírez passionately stated.

Sending a heartfelt message to Cuban mothers facing similar situations, Ramírez said, "I've been in your shoes and it is terrifying. I was in their hands (the Cuban regime) as you are today, but I urge you to protect your children, don't blindly trust everything doctors tell you because it's often untrue. They do everything possible to hide reality." "Seek other medical opinions outside Cuba, as I did," she advised.

During the press conference, activist Diasniurka Salcedo Verdecia spoke about donations. Emotionally, she shared that two million pesos were raised inside Cuba, and sent a message to mothers still facing such circumstances, urging them not to fear and to denounce the dictatorship, expressing their ongoing commitment to help the people. The activist stressed that the doctors who attacked the mother on television are included in the list of repressors.

The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) defended the care provided to Damir Ortiz at the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital during a special television appearance last Friday, blaming the mother for interfering with the child's treatment. Officials and doctors claimed that all medical decisions in the child's case—which, after an intense social media campaign, led to his transfer to a Miami hospital in critical condition—"were made by consensus" and that the "priority was always the child's well-being."… News in development …