ANA ABRIL ENRIQUEZ
Pahokee

Four years, 25 doctors and still no idea what’s wrong with her daughter

Gretel Trueba hides behind her mother as she opens the door. She welcomes the strangers with a piercing scream and takes off her pink shirt.
“Gretel, no,” says her mother, Ana Abril Enriquez.
The 5-year-old flees into the Pahokee mobile home and returns to the living room with a bar of deodorant. Ana takes it out of her mouth.
“No, Gretel. That’s not something you can lick,” she says in Spanish.
Gretel opens her big green eyes, looks away for a second, then takes off again. Moments later, she is back with another bar.
“I am sorry,” Ana says. Her eyes well up with tears. “People think she is a bad child, but she is special.”
Gretel was born in California, where her mom and dad had immigrated from Mexico. From birth, Gretel was a quiet child.
“Too quiet,” said her mom.
But doctors reassured Ana that her little sunshine was fine. A year later, Ana noted that Gretel wouldn’t try to imitate words and still couldn’t hold her head up, so she grew anxious.
Ana took Gretel to Mexico, but more than four years and 25 doctors later, she still didn’t know what was wrong with her daughter.
But while in Mexico, physical therapy helped Gretel develop muscle strength, and finally, at age 3, she was able to walk.
During those years, Ana, who had since divorced her husband, would wake up at 4 a.m. and head to work. At noon, she would pick up Gretel from her parents’ house and take her to physical therapy appointments. She would then go to her apartment and take care of Gretel until she fell asleep, at around midnight.
This summer, Ana felt Gretel was not improving any longer. She still doesn’t speak or go to the bathroom by herself. At school, she would hit the other children, and one after another, principals told Ana that Gretel was not welcome at their school.
In September, Ana returned to the United States to find a doctor who could diagnose Gretel’s disorder and teach her to speak.
Daphne Dorce, a psychologist with the Oakwood Center of the Palm Beaches, said Gretel’s symptoms suggest autism, but more tests are needed to be sure.
“She definitively has a delay, a severe language impairment and problems with socializing with others, but the severity (of her condition) is hard to tell,” Dorce said.
With the diagnosis, Ana, a university graduate, will be able to enroll Gretel in school, find a job and fend for herself. But until then, she is dependent on the help of three farmworkers who are letting her stay in their mobile home with her daughter.
Gretel’s dad, who now lives in Pahokee, brings Gretel three meals a day every day, but not being able to work makes Ana anxious and depressed.
“I want to work so that my child can finally have a home,” Ana said.

Ana Abril Enriquez’s wishes

What she asked for: A home, money for transportation, furniture, clothing, a job for Enriquez, toys - and treatment for Gretel.

What she received: Her rent and utilities will be paid for one year. On Christmas Eve, Ana enjoyed a shopping spree at Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie.

What she said: “She started crying and gave a hug to her daughter and thanked Oakwood and God, and she was very excited because she has never received any help,” said Edith Pino, Oakwood family coach for Ana. “And sometimes we are crying, too, at Oakwood” - tears of gratitude.

Nominated by: Oakwood Center of the Palm Beaches Inc.
Address: 149 S.E. Ave. D, Belle Glade, FL 33430
Phone: (561) 254-9298
Its mission: To help clients build resiliency, facilitate recovery and achieve reintegration into the community by designing and delivering behavioral health care services that meet their needs and expectations.