Friends and family of longtime Toronto resident Maya Moreno are grieving the woman’s death after she succumbed last Saturday to complications from burns suffered in an accident in Peru.
Moreno, a landscape designer, had travelled to the South American country as part of an ongoing journey to connect to her ancestral roots, according to friend Komal Bhasin.
That trip took a disastrous turn, however, when Moreno fell into the Pachitea River, known commonly as the “boiling river of the Amazon,” suffering burns to 70 per cent of her body.
The remote river, a rarity globally, is fed by water heated deep below the ground’s surface, causing parts of the river to literally boil and reach temperatures of around 90 degrees Celsius — or about as hot as a typical coffee.
Moreno was meditating on a rock near the river when she fainted and fell in, suffering second and third-degree burns, said Brian Rush, a longtime friend.
Though the woman was alone, she managed to pull herself from the river, ultimately walking down a trail to find the closest group of people.
What followed was a harrowing effort by Peruvians and friends and family outside of the country to try to save her life, which included an emergency airlift to Toronto and a GoFundMe campaign that has since raised more than $110,000.
Ultimately, however, the injuries suffered were too great.
Moreno, a trans woman known to many in her close network by the birth name, David Moreno Hernandez, died at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on Saturday morning. She is survived by an 11-year old son and many loving friends and family, Rush told TorontoToday.
A trip to Peru
A deeply spiritual person, Moreno had travelled widely throughout South America to reconnect with ancestral and cultural roots, said Rush, an emeritus professor at the University of Toronto.
The boiling river, known locally as the Shanay-timpishka, is spiritually significant to Indigenous Peruvians of the region, known as the Asháninka community. Local shamans believe the river’s boiling waters are created by a serpent spirit known as the Mother of the Waters.
Rush said Moreno, who was travelling alone, had only been in Peru several days before the incident occurred.
On Mar. 24, she travelled from a retreat centre where she had been staying to the river, ultimately stopping to meditate. Rush said it was there that she fainted.
Rush said he does not know what caused Moreno to faint, speculating only that travel in the days prior may have left her somewhat weaker.
Some retreat centres in the area use ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant. However, Rush said Moreno was not under the influence of any substances at the time of her fall. This was confirmed by site personnel in Peru and through conversations he had with Moreno before and after the accident, he said.
Fainting can be triggered by dehydration, low blood sugar or depressed blood pressure.
In the hours after her fall, Moreno telephoned Rush from Peru, well aware of the danger she faced.
“‘My dear, I’ve fallen into the river and it’s bad,” Rush recalled her saying.
Locals mobilize to help
The group that encountered Moreno on the trail by the river was the first in a long line of people who quickly mobilized to try to save the woman’s life.
Having scaled the bank of the river to escape the scalding water, Moreno suffered significant burns on her hands and feet. Realizing she needed urgent medical attention, the group on the path found others who carried Moreno to a boat which took her down the river to the closest village.
The medical centre there was limited, however, and Moreno was subsequently transferred by truck to a hospital in Pucallpa, a city with a population of about 300,000.
There, doctors, nurses and staff treated Moreno with care in the hospital’s burn unit, Rush said.
A staff member from the centre where she had stayed cared for her in Pucallpa, bringing fresh bandages and other supplies, he said.
Learning of the severity of her condition, friends and family in Toronto, where Moreno had lived for more than a decade, began planning how to help. Moreno’s brother, who lives in Columbia, travelled to be with his sister in Peru.
An air evacuation
Staff at the Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto soon also began offering aid.
Having been alerted to Moreno’s situation by a friend who had come to the hospital, the head of Sunnybrook’s burn unit urged Moreno’s friends and family to arrange for the woman’s return to Canada for immediate treatment.
Given the severity of her injuries and the high risk of infection, a commercial flight was not an option. Moreno's friends and family instead arranged for a medical evacuation by a private company.
The cost was steep, however.
To cover the $130,000 flight, friends launched a GoFundMe and quickly donations began to roll in. Concurrently, a member of Moreno’s network extended a loan to cover the cost of the evacuation, enabling her care team to act fast.
Around midnight last Thursday night, Moreno arrived at Sunnybrook Hospital after being sedated for the flight.
Hopes were high.
Tens of thousands of dollars had been raised and a surgery had been scheduled for the next day. Knowing Moreno was coming, Rush said Sunnybrook had saved a bed for her.
But on Friday afternoon, Moreno’s physicians delivered devastating news.
The extent of the burns had triggered a condition known as sepsis, an infection response where the immune system begins attacking healthy tissues and organs.
Less than 48 hours after arriving in Toronto, the parent and beloved community member passed away.
GoFundMe raises tens of thousands within days
Rush stressed that even in death, however, his friend continued to be a teacher.
“Maya left us with an incredible gift — of the importance of community,” he said.
Between Thursday night and when Moreno died on Saturday morning, Rush said she was surrounded by friends and family, including her son.
Since launch, the GoFundMe has raised about $110,000, garnering support from hundreds of people from Moreno’s diverse network of friends and family from around the world, according to friend Komal Bhasin, a Toronto consultant.
In the coming days, the campaign will remain open as loved ones try to raise an additional $40,000 to repay the evacuation debt and cover funeral costs, including bringing some of Moreno’s family from South America to Toronto.
Before her condition worsened, Bhasin said Moreno was aware of the many people chipping in what they could to help her.
“She was so moved. She just was so grateful,” said Bhasin, whom Moreno called “big sister.”
A living tribute
Bhasin said she will remember her friend through her home garden in West Queen West.
Last summer, Bhasin enlisted her friend’s help to enliven the space behind her house.
After visits to a rock garden, conversations with plants and the incorporation of elements of both East and Western traditions, the space was transformed, Bhasin said.
“Maya didn’t just design my garden. She listened to its spirit,” she said. “She created something breathtaking and alive.”
Bhasin said her friend will be deeply missed and was loved by so many.
“[The garden is] an extension of her — and it feels like an extension of my home and my heart.”
Editor's note: This article includes Maya Moreno's birth name at the request of her close friend who organized the GoFundMe. Moreno continued to go by that name with many people close to her.
