When Natalia Cejudo and Nayra de León had to look for a school for their three-year-old daughters in Lanzarote, the odyssey began. They were clear that the little ones, two three-year-old twins, had to go to the same center, but one of them also needed it to be an adapted center with healthcare.
Elena (a fictitious name to protect the minor's anonymity) was born with spina bifida, a congenital malformation where the neural tube does not close completely and which, depending on the degree, causes different damage to the nervous system. In her case, of the three types of spina bifida possible, the minor suffers from the worst diagnosis: myelomeningocele.
In her case, the opening of the spinal column leaves part of the spinal cord exposed and has caused damage to her bladder and legs. For a year now, the minor has been able to start walking with the help of a walker, but she needs an intervention at school to be able to attend class normally.
When the mothers decided to go to a school in Teguise and enrolled their daughters in the center, one of the three on the island that has the structure to accommodate minors with mobility problems, they informed the school that they would need a nursing specialist to perform an invasive intervention on the little girl daily, which would only last five to ten minutes. Then, before starting, they also repeated the request to the Ministry of Education.
Almost a month after the school year began in Lanzarote, Nayra and Natalia have to go to the educational center daily to perform that intervention so that the minor can continue in school. Thus, the mothers have to drop the minor off at the center first thing in the morning, return again around 11:00 AM to perform the intervention, and wait in the car for her to leave school to avoid a third trip.
In the last week, they have at least signed for a school nurse to be able to perform this intervention on the girl on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it is still pending for this solution to be extended to the rest of the week. "She is super happy with the school, privately super happy," her mother recounts in statements to La Voz, the minor has an educational assistant who accompanies her throughout the day, but she still needs this nursing help.
Sources from the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands have assured La Voz that they have placed a Nursing assistant at the school. However, the family assures that the minor needs a person with nursing expertise to attend to the minor.
"We all agree that what is necessary is for the nearby health center to allow one of the nurses who provides home care to spend five minutes a day at the center to perform the specific intervention for the girl," sources from the Ministry warn this outlet.
In this process, Education assures that it is in contact with the Federation of Associations of Mothers, Fathers and Students (AMPA) of Lanzarote and that both institutions share the impossibility of "hiring a full-time nurse for a specific daily intervention."
For the moment, the Ministry has not attended to the demand, but they assure that the most viable option is for the Ministry of Health to mobilize one of the nurses who provides home care in the town daily so that she can perform this five-minute intervention for the minor daily. At this moment, Education and Health are addressing this possibility.
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