A hero of our times

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Categoría: Principal

Publicado: Sábado, 01 Octubre 2016 11:54

Escrito por Redacción Digital Radio Florida

Visto: 279

Cuba, Oct 1st - Staff members at the Cerro University Polyclinic in Havana describe nurse Angel Tellez Venzant as an exceptional professional, one who has shown his heart and courage fighting the Ebola virus in Sierra Leon, and helping victims of the earthquake in Ecuador last April.

That is what RN Carmen Alfonso Beato says first about him. The supervisor, with 25 years experience at the clinic, adds that when any colleague is away on an international mission, their responsibilities are assumed by other personnel, to ensure that the quality of care offered the population does not suffer.

Angel Tellez himself emphasizes that working abroad has been an education. His first experience was as an internationalist combatant, in 1988 in Ethiopia. He had the opportunity there to witness the release of decorated Hero of the Republic Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio, a prisoner of war for 10 years, held by Somali troops in Lanta Buur.

Speaking with Granma International, Tellez recalled, "Our combat unit was stationed in the Ogaden Desert, in the region of Dire Dawa. Cardoso Villavicencio visited because he had been a member of this company's scouting group. Upon his arrival, we talked, and he told us about his experiences in prison, totally cut off from his country, treated inhumanely by his keepers. I asked myself at that moment what I could do to help humanity."

Tellez explained that he enrolled in a nursing program, and enjoyed the academic environment plus the student sports program there. He was elected as a chapter leader of the University Student Federation (FEU) on the campus. He was inspired by his studies, and earned good grades, becoming one of the best students in his class. He chose to complete his social service in the province of Guantánamo, on the eastern end of the island.

His first professional experience was in Punta de Maisí, in a camp for Haitian refugees who arrived in Cuba after their journeys to the United States in unsafe boats went awry. Tellez recalls, "I received persons who were dehydrated and in bad physical condition; their fragile bodes were covered with burns as a result of the long hours of exposure to the sun. Many drowned during the crossing, and the survivors prayed to be rescued by the Cuban coast guard to save their lives."

Upon concluding his social service in 1995, he returned to Havana and worked in several hospitals before moving to the Cerro University Polyclinic, which was close to where he lived. There he was invited to join Misión Milagro, a program created in 2004 by then-Presidents Hugo Chávez, of Venezuela, and Fidel Castro, of Cuba, to treat eyesight pathologies and return the vision of low income patients across Latin America and the Caribbean.

As part of this effort, he worked in the reception of Venezuelan patients who arrived to be treated in Cuba - determining their initial needs, arranging their lodging, and post-operative care for those who received ophthalmological surgery in Havana.

He was responsible for a variety of tasks including the delivery of supplies; providing information about the program; as well as coordinating laboratory tests and diagnostic exams to determine if surgery was needed. After surgery, he followed up on patients' recovery, dressed incisions, and explained self-care measures, to ensure the success of the operation.

This work led to his joining the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Physicians Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics, established in 2005 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans. (The Cuban offer was turned down by U.S. authorities.)

Cuba and China had signed an agreement to extend Operation Miracle to that country. Chosen to participate were the doctors and nurses with the best command of English, and Tellez did well on the proficiency test.

"I was assigned to Xining in the province of Qinghai, from 2006 to 2009. My job consisted of working with patients hospitalized before and after surgery, but on more than one occasion I had to take over as surgical nurse in the operating room. I saw surgeries for strabismus, cataracts, glaucoma, pterigium, and others," he recalled.

The greatest obstacle, he said, was language. The first conversations were conducted in English, but Cuban collaborators arranged to meet a professor on the weekend to learn Mandarin, and were thus better able to train Chinese professionals in the Blumenthal surgical technique being used, which thanks to a microscopic incision allows patients a more rapid recovery.

Tellez described his most recent experience, "One Sunday in September, I got a call at home, asking me if was willing to go to Africa to combat the Ebola virus. The call surprised me, but I agreed, and they gave me instructions to begin the paperwork. They told me to find a light suitcase for a few basic items of clothing to take the preparatory course at the Pedro Kourí Cuban Institute of Tropical Medicine, known as the IPK."

During the course, participants were given all the information available on Ebola, and the protective measures they would need to take. The correct use of the antiseptic suits they would be wearing was emphasized; they were given a variety of medical tests; and took exams on what they had learned.

"From the group of 400, 250 in the best physical condition were selected to go on the mission to Sierra Leona, Liberia and Guinea," Tellez recalled, "I worked in Port Loko, a community nearFreetown, the capital of Sierra Leona, where poverty and living conditions were abysmal. I remember the first time I visited the field hospital; we did an exploratory tour to observe the assistance protocol for the illness. I noticed a small door in the corner of the ward. Through it, I saw a person totally naked, bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, and other parts of the body. He spoke very weakly, asking for help in English.

"He thought we were going to leave the ward without passing by his bed, he needed immediate attention. I was very perplexed by the case, and told the group following us. These doctors immediately inserted IVs in both of his arms to hydrate him, and he recovered. This patient later became a friend. He loved us with a special affection."

In his story, Tellez emphasizes that the Cuban doctors fought for the lives of every patient, until the very last moment. They endured the extreme heat caused by the safety suits for up to two hours, when it was recommended that they do so for only 45 minutes.

He concluded the mission and returned to Cuba, only to respond this year to the call to help victims of the April earthquake in Ecuador. On this occasion, the Henry Reeve Contingent traveled with a search and rescue team, and their canine unit.

"We formed small groups composed of a rescue expert, a doctor, and a nurse. We combed the city block by block amidst the destroyed buildings. When we found people, we would immediately free their arms to insert an IV to hydrate them, until we could get them out of the rubble. Then we would determine their transit to the hospital and treatment," Tellez explained.

After 12 days, the entire brigade was moved to the city of Jama. Here they found a completely destroyed city, with the population sleeping in the streets, for two reasons: to escape the effect of aftershocks and to watch over what was left of their homes. Once the Ecuadorian government supplied every family with a tent, they went to live in refugee camps.

The Cubans' work was intense; the number of injured seeking help grew, with many who lived in areas outside of the city needing surgery. They were found by traveling teams of Brigade members.

Tellez concluded his story, saying, “There were times when I was young that I wondered what I was good for, and what the big purpose of my life would be. After these missions, I can answer these questions; today I know I have put my life at the service of saving peoples' lives."

FAMILY LOVE

Ayxa Beaton Molina, married to Tellez, recalls the difficulties she faced when her husband went to China. Their two daughters, who were still small, didn't understand their father's disappearance, and all three required psychological help. The two grandmothers were very supportive and assumed most of the household chores, so Ayxa could continue her work as an attorney for a migration and foreign services office.

"The news about his departure to Africa was difficult to take," she said with tears in her eyes, "I decided to have a private conversation with him to get a better explanation. He spoke to me about his commitment to the Henry Reeve, Contingent, his decision to go anywhere, and that this mission didn't offer any guarantee that he would return to his homeland. I cried a lot."

Ayxa added, "His return was a great party. We celebrated his birthday with a cake and told him to make a wish when he blew out the candle. Once again, he asked to go on another mission, and life granted his wish when he left for Ecuador a few months back."

His daughters have chosen medicine as their vocation. The eldest, Elianny at 24, is in her third year of medical school to become a doctor, while Eianis, 21, is studying nursing. Both say they admire their father immensely and want to follow his example.(Granma)