Wires protrude from electrical boxes. Floor tiles and handrails are broken and loose in the stairways. Oxygen stops flowing during surgery. One bathroom generally serves an entire wing of the hospital a toilet, sink and shower for patients, family members and staff. Staff members easily contaminate patients.
Hand washing is difficult.
Disposable rubber gloves don t exist. There s no central air conditioning. But that seems a mild discomfort compared to the operating rooms lack of modern filtered airflow systems to sweep germs away from open incisions. Someone has clamped a small fan to the head of Oscar s bed, trying to drive away the merciless heat. Maria and her husband, Alcides, a truck driver, take turns around the clock, wiping their son s brow, talking to him, reading to him.