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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Tuesday, May 21, 2019 10:06 AM
- Tuesday, May 21, 2019 10:06 AM
Meet Yaretzi

Yaretzi is a beautiful, fun-loving and vibrant 5-year-old girl who loves to play with dolls and help in the kitchen, and wants to become a mom one day.
In late 2017, her happy-childhood days were put on hold
by a serious burn injury that occurred when she was attending a New Year’s Eve family gathering away from her home in Monterrey, Mexico. While sitting outside, she reached for a potato chip and lost her balance. A plastic folding table that held a bowl of hot
punch collapsed, spilling its contents down her back. Yaretzi sustained serious
burns to 48 percent of her body.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital that unfortunately did
not offer specialty pediatric burn care. A decision was made to contact the
Michou y Mau Foundation in Mexico City, and within two days she was transferred to
Shriners Hospitals for Children — Galveston. Yaretzi spent the next two weeks
in the pediatric ICU while undergoing three skin-grafting surgeries.
Since leaving the hospital as an inpatient, she has visited three
more times for laser surgeries, and wears compression garments to help reduce
her scarring. During one of those outpatient visits, she had an instant
opportunity to become a patient ambassador for the hospital, making her debut
in a Spanish television commercial filmed at the Houston Shriners Hospital with other Spanish-speaking
Shriners patients. “She’s a natural,” said Angel Martinez, a nurse and
part-time public relations team member who accompanied her for the commercial
shoot.
Even though she leaves her 2-year-old brother at home when
she comes to visit the hospital, she looks forward to her visits. According to
her mother, “Shriners turned a bad experience for her into a great adventure.
She loves being here. It’s something she enjoys. And, she loves the care that’s
been given to her.” So much so, that since her first stay, Yaretzi has been
motivated to learn English so she can communicate better with the staff that she
loves so much.
“You can tell the people that work at Shriners love what
they do and are dedicated to what they do,” said mom. When asked what she would
say to those considering donating to Shriners Hospitals for Children, she said “Your donation would
really make a difference in saving someone’s life.” Having been born and raised
in the U.S., she further explained, “Children in other countries don’t get
the same care they get at Shriners. Shriners stays with kids until they can’t
do any more.”