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This biography relates the remarkable life story of a Cuban refugee in America. Mayra Arbos Baez was born in a suburb of Havana, Cuba, on July 11, 1949. She was the oldest daughter of the family, and ...
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This biography relates the remarkable life story of a Cuban refugee in America. Mayra Arbos Baez was born in a suburb of Havana, Cuba, on July 11, 1949. She was the oldest daughter of the family, and she had one younger sibling, a sister, Tania. She received her elementary education in a private parochial school, and at an early age, it was apparent that she had a high IQ and an aptitude for the art of creative writing of prose and poetry. When the dictator Fidel Castro came to power in December 1959, he confiscated all personal property, including the mansion and factory of her paternal grandfather, who was a wealthy textile factory owner.
In October 1961, Mayra and her sister left Cuba on the so-called Peter Pan flight to Miami, Florida. Her parents escaped two months later. Mayra attended Miami Senior High School and later the Florida College of Medical Technology and graduated with a medical technology degree.
In 1968, Mayra had a medical emergency when a blood clot went to her lungs. At that time, the diagnosis of a familial genetic blood-clotting disorder was made. At the end of her life, she died from this disorder.
Mayra applied for a position at the University of Miami Medical Center and later became manager of a clinical research center there. She also once presented three research papers at an international meeting in Stockholm, Sweeden. In her travels in Europe, she was kidnapped and successfully escaped. She made two significant medical research discoveries that still apply to the practice of medicine today. While at the University of Miami, Mayra and her husband made trips to Barcelona, Spain, Milan, Italy, and to Yellowstone National Park.
In 1992, Mayra and her husband moved to the Atlanta, Georgia, area. They purchased and began a medical practice in 1993. In Atlanta, they made a trip to Seville, Spain, and did a tour of Russia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
In 1996, Mayra was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery and radiation. After the year of cancer treatment, it was Mayra's desire to go to the mountains of Montana. During their one-year stay in Montana, they made trips to Alaska and to China and toured Glacier National Park frequently.
They later moved to Thayne, Wyoming, where they established a medical practice. They lived for one year in Wyoming, enjoying the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park. They made a trip to Madrid, Spain, with a side trip to Santiago de Compostela, the third most-visited Christian pilgrimage site in the world.
One year later they moved to Columbia, Kentucky, where Mayra returned to college, this time at Lindsey Wilson College. Mayra was very successful at college, and she was elected to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges in 2006. While in Kentucky, they took two vacations abroad, a Mediterranean cruise in October 2004 and a Baltic Sea cruise in July 2005.
On May 19, 2006, Mayra had the first of a series of hospitalizations for life-threatening blood clots that culminated in her death on September 29, 2011. So ended the life of this remarkable woman who fled from Fidel Castro's Cuba, left a lasting legacy in the world of medicine, traveled the world over, and improved the life of everyone who ever interacted with her. Hers was a life well lived.
