Dr. Nubia Huete with Flor and sons Fredy and Engel Moises.
BY MARIA JOSE MONTIEL CASTILLO
The mother of 5 came from the region of La Concepcion. She left her home at 6:30 a.m. to arrive at Clinica Verde at 8:15, a long journey to find relief for her children. Her name was Flor de Maria Flor de Martinez.
On this visit she was accompanied by 3 of her children: Fredy, 3, Engel Moises, 1, and Karen Iliana, 14. Both boys arrived with a high fever, and Karen came along to help her mother on the journey. Fredy was excited to start preschool, his mother bragged. He couldn’t stop talking about it “like a parrot,” she said proudly.
It was her fourth visit to Clinica Verde, her fourth time with Fredy and Engel, who get sick frequently. Flor explained that Dr. Nubia Huete always took care of them well. “The doctor has a nice way about her,” she said.
On this day, his mother said, Engel was suffering with a cold and fever. At 1 year old, he weighs 18 pounds. The previous month Dr. Huete had detected anemia and today the doctor diagnosed him with mild asthma and pneumonia. Flor was given a nebulizer to use on Engel three times every 20 minutes, and was asked to come back in 8 days.
Flor said that she learned about Clinica Verde through her mother, who told her CV provided good care to its patients. Also, “if I go to a private pharmacy it costs me much more,” added Flor, and they might not have all the medications prescribed for her children.
Flor and her husband, Fredy Castro, had their first child together at 18. She said she had only finished school through 5th grade, which made her sad, but she insisted that her children attend school and follow their dreams, “since we could not.” Her daughter Karen hopes to study Agricultural Engineering.
“I think I have been a good mother, and I never regret being a mother,” said Flor. “Without my children I would be alone. I would be sad not to hear their laughter, see their games and feel their love.”
Maria Jose Montiel Castillo is a student in the School of Communications at the University of Central America.