Truly a miracle!
Written by Dr. Joe Sherman, team accompanier/chaplain
On Tuesday, I joined the family of José, a 36-year-old neurotrauma patient, in a circle outside the operating room at the Santa Bárbara Hospital in Sucre. We stood on a small landing at the top of the stairs—an impromptu surgery waiting room—holding hands in prayer as our US and Bolivian Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute (NNI) team performed a complex spinal operation. I asked José’s cousin, Sister Joselin, a Catholic missionary sister who traveled from Chile, to lead us in a prayer of healing as the surgery began. Sister Joselin asked the “Supreme doctor of all doctors” to guide the hands of the surgeons as they worked diligently together to repair her cousin’s fractured spinal column.
José’s family keeping vigil outside the O.R., accompanied by chaplain Joe Sherman.
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José had injured his back in a motorcycle accident two weeks prior. Immediately after the accident, José didn’t complain too much, but then the pain progressed in intensity. His family took him to a local clinic where the doctor determined his back was badly bruised, and sent him home to rest. His pain continued, but because José is poor and on governmental insurance, he had limited options for what to do next. His family spent their own money to get an x-ray, but it was inconclusive. A CT or MRI was essential to see if his spine was damaged and confirm the correct diagnosis.
José’s family finally found a doctor to write an order for a CT scan, which was only available at a hospital 45 minutes outside of the city of Sucre. By the time the scan was done—showing a severe unstable dislocation and fracture of two thoracic vertebrae—José had been traveling all over the area seeking medical care and risking paralysis. He was sent by ambulance back to Sucre where he was admitted to Hospital Santa Bárbara. Solidarity Bridge has been partnering with this hospital to improve their capacity to care for neurotrauma cases, and happened to be visiting the hospital the very next week.
Prior to the arrival of the mission team, the US and Bolivian surgeons met virtually to review José’s x-rays. Given the state of his spine, our team was astonished that José was not paralyzed from the chest down. When we gathered in Sucre, we found José stabilized in his hospital bed awaiting surgery. Miraculously, his neurological exam was normal and he was ready for the challenging operation.
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The surgical team with José and his family one day after his surgery.
As the news of a successful surgery without any spinal cord damage made it to José’s family, they praised the Supreme Doctor and all the surgeons and other specialists from Bolivia and the US who worked to make the miracle happen. The successful outcome was also a result of the efforts of the social workers of Puente de Solidaridad who provided the support the family needed during their crisis, and of Solidarity Medical Equipping (EMS) which made many of the specialized materials needed for the surgery accessible. José’s wife was overcome with tears of gratitude for all who came together to save José’s life and his ability to walk and to work.
José was one of six patients with complex neurosurgical conditions that were operated on this week at the Santa Bárbara Hospital. Local and visiting neurosurgeons, neuro-anesthesiologists, neuro-intensivists, and neuro-rehabilitation specialists worked side-by-side throughout the week toward a vision of establishing the Santa Bárbara Hospital as a premier neurotrauma center of Bolivia. Some say that would take a miracle. But José and his wife can affirm that, with diligence and teamwork among committed professionals, and access to essential equipment, supplies and infrastructure, miracles do happen.