Milagro Amador Menéndez: A Life of Dedication

Milagro Amador felt like a nurse since she was a child, when she tried to give injections to her dolls in her native neighborhood of Pueblo Nuevo. That passion grew throughout her life, but from her early years, she already knew what her vocation was. That is why she enrolled in several interest circles.

Days passed, turning into years, and although life takes many turns, one thing she had clear: she would be a pediatric nurse.

At barely 15 years old, she enrolled in nursing school back in the 1980s. From then on, she began a life of dedication and sacrifice, always aware that her specialty is crucial in a patient’s recovery.

«A nurse follows the patient very closely, the one who verifies their improvement every minute, in constant observation, with a very close bond,» she assures.

«Love, sacrifice, and dedication» are the most recurring words when defining the essence of these professionals.

Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to share her knowledge with other nations of the world. That first contact began with an international project aboard an airplane designed as a hospital institution that would remain in Cuba to perform ophthalmological surgeries.

Some time later, she would experience one of the moments that would most mark her professional existence, according to her memory.

Milagro was part of the health specialists’ brigade that provided medical services in Timor-Leste. After more than three days of flight on an Il-96, she would land on that small island of Indonesia.

There she would face a reality that does not appear in medicine textbooks. There she met young women who looked like elderly women with more than 14 deliveries.

«Appendicitis cases arrived already necrotic, because the population would first go to the healer, due to the lack of habit given the absence of doctors and nurses.»

She managed to communicate with the population and create lasting bonds despite the 14 dialects spoken by those humble inhabitants.

And for the first time in the conversation, tears well up in Milagro’s eyes. She, of strong character, gets emotional easily, especially when memories of those 18 months in those remote places come to mind.

Another person would recall moments of anguish and poisonous snakes under the bed, but she learned to face them with a simple broom.

She also provided services in Trinidad and Tobago. In all those countries, she stood out for her extensive knowledge and her fluent English.

Although she keeps memorable memories of her missions in several nations of the world, the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital holds a special place. She even remembers the first time she entered when she was just a young girl eager to learn all the secrets of her profession.

She learned so much that today she is a reference at the medical institution. She has trained several generations of nurses as specialists in the surgical room, where she assumed leadership in her area.

She defines herself as a demanding woman, and it could not be otherwise, because in a surgical room one must be very strict given the biological risk.

«The surgical room nurse must be very observant, have dynamism and spark. Decisions are made on the fly and you cannot hesitate.»