Santiago de Cuba.-  Just about to leave the Saturnino Lora hospital where he was hospitalized in serious condition for more than 15 days after a car accident took place in December 22 nd, The outstanding Cuban pitcher, Norge Luis Vera, thanked to those who have felt concerned about his recovery in an interview granted to Radio Rebelde news agency.

“Right now I am feeling much better thanks to the medical, nurse staffs and all of those people in the hospital who made their best effort along with my cooperation so that I could talk to you now.” Norge Luis Vera, who is winner of three Olympic medals with the Cuban national team, pointed out with his characteristic slow way of speaking.

With beautiful words, Vera thanked the concern from the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, as well as from those who have followed his recovery after the piece of news on his car accident that occurred in the kilometer number 22nd of the national motorway, near of the Dos Caminos de San Luis town, where the car he was driven, crashed into a truck, thus also receiving serious injuries his father and a couple of friends, who are already out of danger.

The outstanding right-handed pitcher, who was born in the Siboney settlement, thanked equally the attentions received by him from members of the Santiago de Cuba squad with which Vera won 176 games, and lost 66 ones through 17 National Baseball Series. Besides, he recognized the performance showed by the aforementioned team during the current Cuban Baseball National championship by declaring: “Do not worry, I will be soon among you all and for a long time, however, if that possibility could not be as an athlete taking part in the National Baseball Series, it will be among the coach staff.”

In a personal way, Norge Luis Vera recognized the monitoring process carried out during his recovery since the beginning by Radio Rebelde news agency through its spaces such as Haciendo Radio, Record, Deportivamente, Webpage and the broadcasting of the current Cuban baseball series.

In a conversation held with the winner of the historical game disputed between Cuba and the Orioles team from Baltimore in 1994 when the Cuban squad beat their US opponents 12-6, doctor Jorge Miranda, director of the health sphere in Santiago de Cuba province, was present and gave us his opinion about the current physical condition of the outstanding pitcher who registered two victories during the second Baseball Classic competition with a 1, 69 average of effectiveness.

“The problems have gradually been solved, his left arm, where he had a compound fracture, has already been corrected through a surgery carried out by experienced orthopedists along with specialists in sports medicine and others from the Orthopedics institute located in the Frank País hospital.”

“He had a really serious cranial trauma and that was the reason it was necessary to substitute temporally the vital functions of his body within the intensive care ward through the usage of a respirator. However, many imminent risks to his life have been disappearing thanks to the careful medical work carried out thus far, although this does not mean that there could not be, at some point, what we called as a late complication which luckily has not happened at the moment.”

“He is under a real long process of recovery, the cranial traumas take long periods of recovery in which is common a painstaking care. He should recover gradually.”

Regarding the injury in his left hip, Jorge Miranda explained “that is the type of injury that is still a complex one given he has had a lesion there twice and it is even in traction, therefore, the medical staff has taken the decision about the necessity of making a better correction of it and fix it through the usage of plaster, thus being a better solution taking into account that we are interested in keeping the personal safety of this outstanding pitcher.

While we were writing this report, we knew that Norge Luis Vera ´s house is being prepared for him to continuing his process of recovery and subsequent rehabilitation stage there, which will be always under observation of experienced doctors. By Carlos Sanabia Marrero