A Sydney mum-of-eight who travelled overseas for a promised ‘cure’ to her diabetes is now fighting for her life in a Peruvian hospital.
Maria Hermilia Murrieta, a 63-year-old grandmother of 13, has endured five major surgeries since June after weight loss surgery sent her into septic shock.
She had flown to Lima, Peru, where she is originally from, chasing a doctor’s pledge that she could be freed from Type 2 diabetes and chronic pain.
‘She felt she wasn’t being listened to by doctors in Sydney and, because the pain intensified, she started consulting doctors in different cities,’ her eldest daughter Martiza Hlentzos said.
Ms Hlentzos said her mother wanted to live longer for her daughter Ashley, who has an intellectual disability and autism.
Ms Hlentzos said the doctor in Lima promised her that a surgery would mean ‘she’s not going to have diabetes anymore, she’s not going to feel the pain anymore’.
‘She was really hooked on that idea… We all told her not to. However, she was dead-set on going and trying to live longer for Ashley,’ she said.
‘The doctor basically promised her the world. My mum wasn’t even an obese person, but they said her only option for the pain she suffered and the diabetes to go away would be to have a surgery to eliminate her weight.
Ms Murrieta, who is a mother to eight children and has 13 grandchildren, chose to undergo a procedure at a private clinic in Lima after experiencing chronic pain for a year
But her family has said she didn’t heal and faced severe complications, including septic shock
‘So she felt this would be the answer to make her feel better, but it all went terribly wrong.’
Instead of relief, Ms Murrieta was left fighting for survival. She began haemorrhaging within hours of the surgery and lost a significant amount of blood.
She was rushed into another emergency surgery, placed into an induced coma, and has since endured multiple haemorrhages, chest tubes to drain fluid from her lungs, and repeated brushes with death.
Upon hearing the news, Ms Hlentzos contacted her siblings, who flew out to join her and their sister Claritta Quizos, who remains in Lima to stay with their mother.
‘I can’t even articulate it. The hardest thing was to see my mum intubated, and I still remember the way she looked, the way she felt, and thinking it was going to be the last time,’ Ms Hlentzos said.
After the third surgery, doctors told the family they would have to say goodbye.
‘Her lungs were filled with fluid, and she had three different types of infections, and everything was just really bad,’ Ms Hlentzos said.
‘She had drains to her spleen and her abdomen, and she had feeding tubes to her stomach. Her kidneys are still going quite strong.’
After the third surgery, the family was told they might have to say their goodbyes
Against all odds, Ms Murrieta has now awakened from the coma.
‘She kept fighting,’ Ms Valverde said.
Ms Hlentzos said her mother has already undergone five life-saving surgeries since the botched operation.
As of Wednesday, she remains at risk of being re-intubated due to reduced lung capacity and is battling fevers caused by an unknown infection.
Now, the family is desperate to bring her home. They have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $200,000 for an air ambulance back to Sydney, where they believe she will have the best chance of recovery.
‘The doctors and the healthcare team, I truly believe they’re amazing,’ Ms Hlentzos said.
‘Unfortunately, the crew doesn’t have the resources that Australia does.’
Both Ms Valverde and Ms Hlentzos, Sydney-based registered nurses, have expressed deep gratitude for the doctors in Lima.
The family set up a GoFundMe to raise $200,000 for an air ambulance to bring the matriarch back to Australia where they believe there will be better resources
Ms Murrieta has been describes as a ‘cheeky, vibrant, young at heart’ woman
‘They’ve been heroes in saving my mum’s life and they’ve done everything in their power,’ Ms Hlentzos said.
Ms Hlentzos said she contacted the Australian consulate while visiting her mother but was directed to a web page for translators and has not received support.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told Daily Mail it is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian hospitalised in Peru.
‘Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,’ they said.