TAMPA – The life of a Venezuelan mom is hanging by a thread. She needs an urgent kidney transplant, and the donor is her dad. But, the problem is he’s thousands of miles away in Venezuela. Right now, traveling from there to the United States is practically impossible.
Vanessa Viloria is 38 years old, going through one of the most difficult moments of her life. She’s staying at Tampa General Hospital, her health is fragile, her life is at risk and if her father in Venezuela is not approved for a Humanitarian Visa, she may not survive.
More and more complications come out each day,” Vanessa said. “Every day there’s something different and it scares me. It scares me that the moment may come when I can’t get out of here.”
Vanessa’s biggest fear is not being able to leave Tampa General Hospital, and not returning home to her family. When her kidneys began to fail, and the search for a donor began, her life changed completely.
“With chest pain making it hard to breathe, I had a million things going through my head,” Vanessa said. “Later, I saw the CT Scan results showing I had lung complications, and then a tumor in my kidney. Go figure.”
Through all the suffering, came the most difficult part: the donor.
“As her father, I am compatible. I told her, ‘Let’s go. I’ll be your donor, I have no problem,'” Vanessa’s dad, Orlando Viloria said. “The problem now is getting the visa.”
It’s her dad who plans to donate one of his kidneys to save his daughter’s life. But, without a Humanitarian Visa that allows him to travel from Venezuela to Tampa, it would be impossible. At 38-years-old, Vanessa’s days are numbered.
“I’ll do anything I can. If it’s a kidney, no problem,” Orlando said as he choked up. “We as parents want her to be healthy. She’s number one. I worry because she has her kids too.”
She has two children; an 8 and an 11-year-old. They want to see their mom, but with the pandemic, the protocols, and the non-existing political ties between Venezuela and the U.S., they’re stuck at home with Vanessa in the hospital.
“We are alone in this country; it’s just my wife and my two children,” Vanessa’s husband Ricardo Granado said. “And imagine, she’s here, hospitalized. When I cheer her up, she gets the willpower to stay alive, and that’s what will happen because I have faith. I have faith that something good is going to happen and we will soon get out of this situation.”
They’re holding onto the hope that someone will dig deep into the hearts of those who are capable of making Vanessa’s father come to the U.S., and ultimately, save Vanessa’s life.
Currently, Venezuela doesn’t have an embassy in the country. And since the Embassy of Colombia is not receiving cases, her family is forced to process all of this through Mexico’s embassy. The office of Florida Senator Rick Scott said they’ll look at the case and contact the family.
