{"id":17890,"date":"2026-10-12T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=17890"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T19:02:00","slug":"22-year-old-fights-for-life-after-brutal-earthquake-injury-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/health\/22-year-old-fights-for-life-after-brutal-earthquake-injury-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"22-Year-Old Fights for Life After Brutal Earthquake Injury Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A 22-year-old woman remains in intensive care at Santo Tom\u00e1s Hospital<\/a> in Panama City after suffering a severe earthquake injury in Panama<\/a><\/strong> when a wall collapsed on her during Friday’s 7.5 magnitude tremor<\/a>. Suribeth Cortez underwent head surgery on Saturday and is intubated with cerebral edema<\/a>, according to her aunt Ana, who spoke with reporters Monday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quake struck October 9, destroying the home in P\u00e1jaro de Macaracas, Los Santos province<\/a>, where Cortez was visiting her mother. Family members said Cortez has difficulty walking, which prevented her from escaping when the structure began to fail. Her mother had been helping an elderly relative when the wall fell on Cortez, trapping her beneath rubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emergency
Emergency crews continue assessing structural integrity in affected communities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rescue and Emergency Response After Earthquake Injury Panama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Neighbors and Cortez’s mother used wooden poles and whatever tools were available to pull her from the debris. She was first taken to Macaracas Hospital<\/a>, then transferred to Las Tablas Hospital, where doctors gave the family a discouraging prognosis. Her condition required air transport to Panama City for specialized neurosurgical care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health Minister Fernando Boyd Galindo confirmed Cortez sustained a cranioencephalic trauma and a closed abdominal injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“She had to be operated on to examine her because her hemoglobin was dropping. Then she stabilized, she is stable, she is recovering, so we hope everything turns out well. She is in intensive care” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"1440px
Santo To\u0301mas Hospital by Franco4444 – Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=21761196<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Family Faces Multiple Medical Crises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The earthquake also injured Ana’s mother, an elderly woman with a disability who uses a wheelchair after a prior leg amputation. During the chaos, she fell from her chair and a beam struck her left arm, causing fractures. She underwent an initial procedure at Las Tablas Hospital and was being prepared for another surgery at Ciudad de la Salud medical complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“My mother is stable for now” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ana said. But her primary concern remains Cortez, who responds to medication yet has not regained full consciousness. The family waits for updates as doctors monitor the brain swelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Una publicaci\u00f3n compartida por TVN Noticias (@tvnnoticias)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n