What began as a desperate fight for life turned into a story of hope when MAF flew a baby boy on a medevac flight from Maliana to Timor-Leste’s capital, Dili.
Story by Lobitos Alves
“My baby was premature, and I was so worried about his condition,” said Carmelita Brito de Jesus, mother of tiny Alfredo.
Carmelita is a 27-year-old housewife from Maliana. She helps her husband on a farm that grows cassavas, mung beans, corn, and papaya from the region’s fertile land.
Born three months’ prematurely, Alfredo’s delivery was normal, but he was underweight and needed to be transferred to Guido Valadares National Hospital, where equipment and facilities were adequate to handle his condition.
The MAF team received a call from the National Ambulance and Emergency Medical Service to evacuate Alfredo and his mother from Maliana.
A 25 minute MAF medevac flight brought them to Dili, allowing them to avoid spending three hours on a road with a number of unsealed portions and too many potholes to count.
“Alfredo was supposed to receive treatment at Maliana Referral Hospital,” said Carmelita. “But there was no incubator available there, so he had to be transferred to Dili.
“If we had travelled by ambulance from Maliana to Dili, he wouldn’t have survived. The MAF plane helped us a lot in saving his life.”
If we had travelled by ambulance from Maliana to Dili, he wouldn’t have survived. The MAF plane helped us a lot in saving his life.
Delfina de Jesus, baby Alfredo’s aunt, came to the hospital to see her nephew.
“I was very sad when I arrived at the hospital and saw that his condition was critically severe,” said Delfina.
“I express my deepest gratitude to MAF for successfully bringing our nephew from Maliana to Dili to receive emergency treatment.”
A few months after the medevac, Alfredo is growing well.
“I’m very happy to see that his condition has improved,” said Carmelita. “He has now been discharged from the hospital. His weight has also increased from 700 grams to 1800.
“While we were still at the hospital,” added Delfina, “the MAF team visited us and provided a care package containing basic needs such as biscuits, a phone voucher, toothpaste, and soap, which really meant a lot to us.”
Inggrid Pinto, MAF Hospital Chaplain, regularly visits patients who have been flown into the city from various regions of the country.
“When we visited them at the hospital for the first time, the baby was very tiny,” said Inggrid.
“Every time we visited Carmelita, we felt a strong connection with her family – especially because they always opened up and shared the burdens on their mind and the difficult experiences they had been through.
“I feel proud and grateful to MAF for giving hope to our people through medevac flights. It’s a privilege to reach out to those in need, especially the Timorese people.
“I could really see the significant impact on the baby and the family, especially after baby Alfredo recovered and was discharged from the hospital,” said Inggrid.
Alfredo has now returned home with his family in Maliana.