Shared Dreams in Paraguay
Our mission week in Paraguay culminated with a gathering to celebrate dreams coming to fruition. Our neurosurgical partnerships in Paraguay began only five years ago, but in that time we’ve exchanged many ideas that evolved into joint plans to improve the health and quality of life for patients in need of neurosurgical care. This week, it was our great joy to see so many of these ideas concretized. We were also immensely humbled, as our Paraguayan partners went out of their way to publicly and officially recognize the progress we’ve achieved by working together.
First, we celebrated the dedication of an operating room in Solidarity Bridge’s name at the Hospital Nacional de Itauguá. This O.R. was equipped through donations we procured and shipped from Illinois to Paraguay in late 2020. That year, as the pandemic raged, Dr. Patricia Sobarzo and Dr. José Kuzli of the Itauguá hospital had identified a specific problem–the lack of sufficient surgical facilities to safeguard regular patients while also being able to operate on patients who tested positive for COVID-19. They invited us to collaborate with them to solve it. Working together, we created a space to separately and safely accommodate surgeries for COVID-positive patients. The Paraguayan Ministry of Health also supported the project by covering the cost of the shipping container delivery. This new O.R. has alleviated bottlenecks, facilitating timely surgeries for more than 200 patients since December 2020. It was exciting for our staff to see the O.R in action. We look forward to continuing our support of the hospital’s work in this life-saving space.
Our week culminated with a closing gathering to celebrate the creation of the new micro-surgical training laboratory. Dr. Kuzli formally thanked Solidarity Bridge, represented by staff members Lindsay Doucette and Maria Eugenia Brockmann, and Dr. Richard Moser, President of our Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute, for helping transform his dream of a microsurgery training laboratory into reality. As Dr. Kuzli addressed the audience of neurosurgical residents and young doctors from across Asunción, he traced the origins of the laboratory: “I had this idea for many years but didn’t know how to complete it on my own because it is very difficult to access surgical microscopes in a low-income country like Paraguay.”
Dr. Kuzli went on to explain that he learned of Solidarity Bridge in 2018 through a flier promoting a course on skull-base surgery that we led in Bolivia that year. That was the nudge that set things in motion. Dr. Kuzli had the foresight to see the role that Solidarity Bridge could play in helping to equip a training laboratory for the next generation of neurosurgeons in Paraguay, and the generosity to invite us to share in his dream.
Visionary leadership from Dr. Kuzli in Paraguay and Dr. Richard Moser in the US helped fan dreams that caught fire and continue to illuminate and inspire all involved. At our final gathering in Asunción, Dr. Kuzli made a moving announcement: “The Paraguayan Neurosurgical Society recognizes as honorary members all those who contribute their services to Paraguayan society and to enhancing neurosurgery in Paraguay. For this reason, the Paraguayan Neurosurgical Society has decided to name Dr. Richard Moser as an honorary international member.”
US missioner and neuro-anesthesiologist, Dr. Deepak Sharma, closed the evening with the following remarks: “The two words that will stick with me are solidarity and bridge. Seeing the solidarity of all of us here together and the numerous bridges we have built in just these few days has been incredible. It has been a great honor to be here.”
Indeed it has been an honor and a privilege to share this week with our Paraguayan colleagues. As we said our goodbyes, we were filled with feelings of mutual respect, friendship, inspiration and excitement to continue this work together –both the dreaming, and the work that brings our dreams to fruition.
Through partnerships and collaborative actions that are measurable and sustainable, the Neurosurgery and Neurology Institute works to build capacity and expertise in Bolivia and Paraguay in order to increase access to safe, affordable and timely health care.
We are committed to alleviating the suffering, death and disability from neurological disorders and injuries that disproportionately impact patients in the countries where we serve.