JESUSA ZACARIAS MARTIN
West Palm woman’s toddler hospitalized for months in Miami
Maria Martin, 10, plays with brother David Martin, 2, at Jackson Memorial Medical Center. He has undergone two liver transplants in his short life so far.
By ANA M. VALDES
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The days have turned into weeks and months for Jesusa Zacarias Martin and her toddler, David, who despite his short life has already undergone two liver transplants and is now battling uncontrollable fevers and infections at Holtz Children’s Hospital in Miami.
Mother and son have been at Holtz since this summer, dozens of miles away from their family in West Palm Beach. It’s been months since Zacarias has been able to shower at home, and even longer since she’s shared a home-cooked meal with her 10 and 15-year-old daughters.
Zacarias, 33, says she just can’t leave her son alone at the hospital, where the chubby boy with big brown eyes is fed milk through a tube inserted in his nose and spends days at a time lying on a hospital bed, too weak to even walk.
David’s father, Diego, tries to visit as often as he can, but his car is too beat up to make the 75-mile trek to Miami every weekend. That means Zacarias sees her daughters only a couple times a month, usually in the hospital cafeteria or at an apartment for patients’ families that the Martins rent when they can afford it.
“This is very difficult,” Zacarias said. “When you tell people on the streets about your troubles, they don’t believe you, but it’s very hard.”
Jesusa plays with her son David at the hospital in Miami, where he’s been for months.
David has undergone numerous treatments to try to eliminate the fevers, but nothing has worked so far, Zacarias said.
“I have not been told when we can leave the hospital, and sometimes I go crazy in that hospital room,” she said.
Her daughters back home, Maria and Dolores, are also feeling the effects of being away from their mother.
“The little one needs a lot of help in school, and often cries and tells me, ‘Mom why don’t you come home with us,’” she said, adding that the eldest is often withdrawn and doesn’t socialize with her peers.
The Martins’ greatest need is for a functional car, one that can withstand traveling every weekend to Miami so that Diego can care for David while Zacarias spends some time with her daughters. But the family also needs money to fill up the gas tank and buy food while they are in Miami on weekends. Diego works with a landscaping company, but his salary barely covers rent, utility bills and food for him and his daughters.
Zacarias often has no money to buy lunch and dinner at the hospital. Last week, she said, she fainted twice while she was microwaving a soup in the hospital cafeteria because she didn’t have money to buy a hot meal.
Zacarias says David is also needy of clothing and a large stroller where he can nap while his mother wheels him around the hospital hallways. She’d also like a thermometer to monitor the child’s fevers. “Whatever anyone wants to give us, we will be very grateful,” she said.
ZACARIAS’ WISH
Besides a new car, the family could use some additional money to pay for gas and food, as well as rent and utilities. Zacarias’ daughters also need clothes and shoes, and would like to get MP3 players for Christmas. David also needs clothes and diapers for when he returns home to West Palm Beach. His mother is also requesting a thermometer so she can monitor the boy’s fever.
NOMINATED BY: Caridad Center, Boynton Beach
