Marta
Ivan, 32, and Mercedes, 27, have been a couple since they were teenagers. They live with Mercedes’s mother in the community of La Lidia in the province of Ichili-San Carlos, where Ivan operates a motorcycle taxi. The couple had always wanted a family, so they were delighted when Mercedes finally became pregnant in 2024. As Ivan tells the story: “It was the best news for us. I took good care of her during her entire pregnancy.” In January 2025, they welcomed a daughter. But within hours, they noticed the baby turning blue. Nurses rushed little Marta to an incubator and connected her to supplemental oxygen. They gave Ivan a prescription to purchase a specialized medication, but it wasn’t in stock in any of the region’s pharmacies. A specialist told the family their little girl had a ventricle wall defect, VSD, with pulmonary atresia. She needed emergency surgery in a specialized, private hospital.
The family was referred to Puente de Solidaridad (PdS) for assistance. After confirming the family’s limited socio-economic possibilities and the urgent medical need, PdS social worker Carmen Salses walked Ivan and Mercedes through the logistical steps to schedule the surgery, while providing financial support as well as emotional and spiritual accompaniment throughout the overwhelmingly stressful process. Doctors at Incor Clinic in Santa Cruz performed a Blalock Taussig procedure on her tiny heart when Marta was just 17 days old.