Following a harrowing ordeal during Hurricane Oscar, six-year-old Yodelmis Furones Matos, who sustained a head injury when a tree fell onto his home, is showing significant improvement after being airlifted for medical care. The state-run Guantánamo broadcaster, Primada Visión, shared this positive news on social media, highlighting Yodelmis's recovery after surgery at the 'Dr. Antonio María Béguez César' Pediatric Hospital in Santiago de Cuba.
“Now extubated and showing clear signs of recovery, the young Guantánamo native Yodelmis Furones Matos remains in the Intensive Care Unit,” the broadcaster reported. Dr. Zaida María León Castellanos, the hospital’s surgical deputy director, confirmed that Yodelmis is "stable, awake, conscious, oriented, and eating."
The doctor added, “So far, there are no neurological or clinical complications.” Earlier, hospital director Jesús Cabrera had announced that the child had been on mechanical ventilation since the surgery on October 22.
Emergency Airlift Amidst Natural Disaster
Initially in critical condition, Yodelmis was evacuated by a Cuban Air Force helicopter accompanied by a multidisciplinary medical team from Baracoa’s Hospital Octavio Concepción y de la Pedraja to the Pediatric Hospital in Santiago de Cuba. The operation was complicated by the hurricane-induced rockslides that severed the La Farola Viaduct, isolating Baracoa from the provincial capital and making land travel impossible.
Oscar's arrival compounded the chaos, as it followed a nationwide electricity system collapse, leaving widespread destruction and necessitating numerous other rescues of the injured and displaced. One such rescue involved Daniel González Hernández, a 12-year-old boy pulled from the floodwaters in San Antonio del Sur, Guantánamo.
Additional Rescues and Ongoing Challenges
The young resident of Macambo suffered a severe leg injury and underwent a successful necrotomy — a procedure to remove dead tissue and prevent infections that could lead to permanent deformities. Despite the heroic efforts, the hurricane caused extensive material damage and resulted in at least seven confirmed fatalities, according to official statements. However, numerous accounts from victims and their families on social media suggest that the death toll might be higher.