Pablo del Pino, my uncle, checks the corporal temperature of his brother at the geriatric ward of the hospital a few days before my father was discharged from the medical institution. Throughout his hospitalization, my father suffered severe fevers, which were difficult to control due to the scarce antipyretic medicines available at the hospital. Cataplasms were the alternative to relieve his hyperpyrexia periods.
"Vete a casa y que Dios te acompañe" (Go home and may God be with you) is a photographic essay about the abandonment of patients who suffer terminal illnesses and their right to a dignified death.
The proposal explores the emotional, psychological, and social traumas derived from the forced cessation of palliative care in patients who suffer terminal illnesses, a terrible practice developed by medical institutions in some countries worldwide. Under the rules of a dehumanized bureaucratic power, these medical institutions decide how, when, and where individuals will pass away.
Portrait of Juan del Pino, my father, in a bed at the geriatric ward of the Joaquin Albarran hospital in Havana during the final days of his hospitalization on September 26, 2021. When this portrait was taken, he had already been diagnosed with lung cancer.
"In September 2021, while COVID-19 hit Cuba the hardest, I began to take photos of my father and some objects that accompanied him during his hospitalization period. These would be the last photos I would take of him. He died at home a few weeks later.
According to the medical report, lung cancer killed him and probably COVID-19 accelerated his death. But the malignant tumor wasn't the only cause; the indifference and the abhorrent policies of institutional bureaucracy worsened his health and were ultimately responsible for his death.
This story is from the November 2022 Humanity edition of Lens Magazine.
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This story is from the November 2022 Humanity edition of Lens Magazine.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
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