MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine congressman gets drugs for his son with cerebral palsy after social media cry

No money to import medicines is no longer a political thing but a social thing, Congressman Buryaile said

Congressman Ricardo Buryaile of the opposition Together for Change (Juntos por el Cambio - JxC) got the medication for his son with cerebral palsy late Thursday “thanks to the solidarity of the people.”

The lawmaker and former Agriculture Minister under President Mauricio Macri had launched a desperate message on social media earlier Thursday after the drug was in short supply nationwide.

“It is a medication that he has been taking permanently for 25 years,” Buryaile explained.

He also noted that his child's medical insurance “ended up telling me that there was no more” of it in the country. Buryaile added that there was “no stock” nationwide and it could not be found at pharmaceutical distributors.

“My son with cerebral palsy takes 12 pills of this medication per day. It is not available, there are no pharmacies in CABA or drugstores, they have not had stock for 2 months, he only has enough for 5 more days, if anyone has it in stock, send me a DM, I will be eternally grateful,” wrote the lawmaker.

Later in the day, his plea had been answered: “I thank with all my heart the solidarity I received from different places inside and outside the country! I am sorry for not being able to respond to everyone. For the moment I was able to get the medicine for Matias. I hope that soon the shortage of necessary medical supplies will be solved,” Buryaile wrote.

“The reaction of the people through social networks is extraordinary,” the man from Formosa had said in a radio interview. “What saves us in this situation is the people, but it highlights the problems that we Argentines have, that there is no money to import medicines: it is no longer a political thing but a social thing,” he insisted. “If this, which is a common medicine, is not available, I can't imagine what it must be like for medicines for more complex pathologies,” Buryaile lamented.

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect movement and muscle tone or posture. It is caused by damage to the immature brain as it develops, most often before birth. It is caused by injury or abnormalities of the brain. Most of these problems occur as the baby grows in the womb.

Twitter users went viral about the case. No money for medicines but Economy Minister Sergio Massa's son Tomás had state funding to go see the Qatar World Cup.