A member of the Cuban medical brigade here, Espinosa, who was born in Ciego de Avila province, told Prensa Latina about life here in two departments, in the last one until a few days ago.
In September 1999, at the age of 29, the specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine arrived at a community of repatriates in the Chajul municipality, in the southwestern department of Quiché, some 250 kilometers from this capital.
He walked eight hours to get to the village, I bathed in the river, without electricity, I boiled water to drink and I learned the Mayan languages Ixchil and Q’anjob’al.
Without nurses, with a health promoter, for the first time I treated a snake bite, complications from childbirth, among others, added the person who completed this stage in December 2001.
In 2003, he founded the collaboration in Venezuela, served as national coordinator of Barrio Adentro II until 2009, while from 2013-2017 he served as advisor to the Pan American Health Organization in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
He returned to Guatemala on December 16, 2019, and began working in the department of San Marcos, bordering Mexico, and was linked to the health post in the village of San Francisco, in the municipality of El Rodeo, for seven months.
Then I was transferred to the reinforced health post in the municipality of Catarina, where I remained for a year and six months, and from November 2022 until now I was stationed in the health post in the municipality of San Marcos, said Espinosa, whom is called Orelvis.
Three months after our arrival, he recalled, Covid-19, about which we knew little, had an impact, and from the beginning we were strongly insisted on the use of protective means, as well as compliance with Guatemala’s care protocol.
We consult patients with respiratory symptoms and support vaccination posts, stated the doctor, with a career that includes health director of the Baraguá municipality and the Antonio Loaces provincial hospital.
In January 2022, he was appointed coordinator of a brigade of 17 specialists in the department, which he combined with medical assistance.
We provide services in two comprehensive maternal and child care centers, in seven permanent care centers, in the same number of medical institutions and in four health posts, he pointed out
Based on teamwork, the impact of care on the population, top government officials from the department and the sector bid him farewell with a special recognition.
It is just the result of Cuban health professionals during 25 years in the demarcation, he minimized, and noted that they are found in the most difficult places in San Marcos, most of them in the highlands, where temperatures are very.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to provide my knowledge to the people of that region and much more for their gratitude,” said Espinosa, who was also emphatic about the important role of the family, “without their support it would have been impossible.”
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