“They told me to make a decision and, well, I did; on Tuesday they took me down to the operating room and they amputated my leg”, Rolando Maila, the ecuavoley player who survived the flood in La Comuna tells his new reality

In room 23 on the fifth floor of the Eugenio Mirror Hospital, in the north center of Quito, one of the survivors of the flood that occurred in the La Comuna sector, On January 31, 2022, he recovers from his injuries and surgery. After a few days of constant cleaning, his right leg had to be amputated.

The day of the tragedy Roland Maila, 44 years old, was about to play a game of ecuavoley on the field of the Commune. He played server and “was a player in the games of the bad guys,” he says with some sarcasm about himself. the encounter it was already agreed against Jayak, Crispy and Juan.

The match did not start, because they were waiting for Rolando’s daughter wear your sportswear. But, before that happened a barrage arrived that took away the players, the spectators and the entire structure of the sports complex.

“An unusual sound was heard, we returned to see and a mudslide was coming”he says sitting on his bed.

Roland remembers that ran with other friends to a ravine, next to the field. Realizing that the wave was strong, everyone ran away, but he didn’t make it. “I felt that something fell on me, I closed my eyes and felt that it went from one side to the other, rolling around He wanted to stop me, but he couldn’t. I swallowed mud I was running out of air, I couldn’t breathe. I found a light over there and took in as much air as I could. A river of water continued to flow down. I thought I was fine because I was conscious at all times, my arms were fine, but I wanted to move my leg and I couldn’t.”

At that time, many people came to help him. They took him in a friend’s truck to a park and from there, to an ambulance. “A friend who was also in the truck, they say he was going in better condition than me. Unfortunately, I found out later that he had passed away”, he says and her eyes fill with tears.

His next memory is his arrival at the Eugenio Espejo Hospital. He felt a intense pain in his right leg, says Rolando, who also arrived with a head injury, for which they took several stitches. Also, others left arm cuts and scrapes and bruises on the rest of the body.

“I spent about three days with my leg like this, with rehabilitation, stabilizing myself to endure the operating rooms. Then They told me that my leg is not going to work for me, to make a decision and, well, I did; on Tuesday (February 8) they took me down to the operating room and They amputated my leg.”

According to information provided by the communication department of the Hospital Eugenio Espejo, 17 wounded arrived at this health house. Nine people were discharged two died and six remain hospitalized.

Rolando Maila is the fourth (along with his twin) of six children. He worked as a driver in his father’s bus. On Monday, February 7, a week after the flood, he planned to start the tours at the Manuela Cañizares school, for the face-to-face return of the students.

However, today no one can take charge of that journey. “To take care of my son I had to leave my job, he needs 24-hour care,” points out his father Luis Maila, 70, at the door of the room, with a box of pills in hand. On his chest he carries a card at all times that allows him to enter.

Roland is sorry. “I will no longer be able to drive and the sport has practically ended for me. I have been an athlete all my life, since I was a boy, with friends who lost their lives we always played soccer. They are from the neighborhood We were like brothers With Peter (Pedro) Bayas and Edwin Chalco we went everywhere and went to the volleyball courts. Unfortunately, I heard the news, a long list of dead: they were all my friends”, he remembers and begins to cry.

Now she thanks God and says that she will take advantage of the new opportunity of life with her daughters and parents. Rolando is separated from his second marriage five years ago. His first daughter, Daniela, 24, gave him two grandchildren.

The only thing that Rolando wants is help you with rehabilitation and a prosthesis allowing you to return to your normal activities. “The rest depends on me, as I have always said, God, only give me health and life, I make the money”.

The stump at the knee of his right leg it still hurts, “When they come to clean me to take a shower I have to step aside and I feel that the foot is still there, It hurts like it’s muffled, but it’s not. The psychologist told me that this is going to happen little by little, that the mind is going to start to assimilate”.

Rolando is grateful to the doctors who are treating him, his relatives and the people who helped him when the flood occurred. He says take courage and think of your daughters it was what kept him in a positive mind to not give up and survive.

“I would like to go back to volleyball, but not like before, go to a game and get home early, have coffee with my family. I used to go every day it is a vice, I even spent there with my family”. (I)