One Patient's Journey to Care
Solidarity Bridge Neurosurgery Program Director Lindsay Doucette with Emilia and three of her children.
Emilia traveled with three of her four children from her home in Monteagudo, Bolivia, to the city of Sucre, seeking treatment for epilepsy. It was an eight-hour trip on mostly unpaved roads, but the children knew the journey was necessary to improve their mother’s health.
Emilia is an example of the many patients living in rural communities who face tremendous obstacles in managing their epilepsy. Every case is different, but cost-effective interventions and treatments can allow many people with epilepsy to minimize seizures and enjoy a good quality of life. Unfortunately, adequate diagnosis, monitoring and medications are difficult to access in many parts of Bolivia.
About three years ago, Emilia started suffering tonic-clonic seizures with loss of consciousness and violent muscle spasms. She came to Sucre for treatment and was given a prescription for one of the four epilepsy drugs that are available in Bolivia. However, the medicine was difficult to access in her area. Without options to refill her prescription, she stopped taking it. By the time she undertook the difficult journey last week, she was experiencing an average of two epileptic events per day.
The American Medical Association estimates that there are 5 neurologists per 100,000 people across the US. But in Sucre, a city of over 300,000, the Santa Barbara Hospital has just one neurologist. Dr. Myra Miranda is responsible for overseeing neurological care for all patients from the city and the surrounding region. Like many of her colleagues, Dr. Miranda completed her medical specialty training abroad before returning to serve her home community. She has a passion for neurological care. But the lack of updated diagnostic and monitoring equipment and technical support limit the treatment options she can offer patients like Emilia.
Difficult and multi-factored challenges like these are the focus of our Neurosugery & Neurology Institute (NNI), which is committed to alleviating the suffering, death and disability from neurological disorders and injuries that disproportionately impact patients in the countries where we serve.
Neurologists Dr. Myra Miranda of Santa Barbara Hospital and Dr. Jeff Loeb of University Illinois Chicago working together in Sucre.
Emilia heard about our mission trip from her neighbor who is completing an internal residency rotation at the Santa Barbara Hospital. Our activities at Santa Barbara were co-led by TeleEEG, a British nonprofit that has provided EEG equipment and training to public hospitals in 26 countries around the world. Tests administered in any location are uploaded to the TeleEEG server, where certified technicians are on standby to interpret the results and return their findings to the public hospital. The young resident who is Emilia’s neighbor conducted her EEG test with the new equipment donated by TeleEEG. Her test results will be analyzed to identify the type of epilepsy she has, and in turn determine the best medicine for her particular condition. Dr. Miranda and local social workers then will support Emilia to make sure she can fill her prescription.
Our model of working in partnership is crucial to our success and impact in this effort. We are grateful to the Santa Barbara Hospital for calling our attention to this need and inviting us to support their committed team exemplified by Dr. Miranda. We’re also grateful to TeleEEG and our NNI doctors who give their time and resources to increase the scope and quality of neurological care in Bolivia.
The new EEG equipment, training, and technical support is a significant step forward, but many barriers remain to make diagnostic tools, anti-convulsant medicines, and clinical care more readily available in Sucre. Solidarity Bridge is committed to continuing to support the neurology community and mobilizing resources to increase access to care for patients like Emilia and so many others.
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.