1990s
From the years 1995 to 1999.
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The First Surgery
At four months, Beto is diagnosed with tetralogy of fallot, a congenital heart condition that affects the heart’s ability to re-oxygenate blood. A few months later, in Spring of 1996, a first operation takes place to help Beto’s heart: the instillation of an arterial shunt.
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Meeting Mr. Novo
With Humberto in a better-paying job, Beto more stable, and Marcela back on her feet, the search for a new home began, and Marcela calls the first ad she sees in the Pennysaver ad paper. Ramon Novo offers an apartment in one of his complexes, in a location close to Sonia’s home. Marcela later explains…
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A Poem, A Warm Summer.
Summer is overThe butterflies don’t fly any more, The birds no longer sing nor cheerfully play,But you mi negritoLive with use even through the coldest winter of our lives,Giving us love… a lot of love.I know for a fact that summers’Will no longer be the same.Now, after that winter with you,Everyone changed.Like when the trees change…
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Beto is discharged from the second surgery.
Once Beto awakes from the surgery, he is constantly facing pneumonia and diarrhea, leading him to be in and out of the hospital. Because of this Marcela decides the family must live somewhere in El Paso that is more accessible for her to get Beto to the hospital. They move in with Sonia’s family, a…
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The Second Surgery
Following the first operation, the doctors told the family Beto needed to grow a bit more in order to fully repair the heart defect. Similarly, there was not a surgeon in El Paso at the time who could confidently do the repair on a child, as the procedure was more common in adults. In 1997,…
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Happy Birthday, Beto.
Humberto “Beto” Rivas, the first child of Marcela and Humberto, is born. Beto remains in the NICU for a week as he is monitored for a heart murmur, nothing else is detected. The family meets Dr. Schuster, a pediatric cardiologist who initially checks Beto. He schedules Beto for yearly appointments, but tells the family to…