Accompanying Margarita on Her Healing Journey

At 53, Margarita is a woman who has faced more challenges than most people do in a lifetime. When I first met her, she was overwhelmed by debilitating headaches and near blindness. About 18 months earlier, her symptoms had started with headaches and subtle vision problems. But at the time, she and her family thought it was all tied to the devastating loss of her husband of more than 30 years. The grief of losing him had consumed her, and no one could have imagined that something else might be wrong.

South-South Exchange in Honduras for Improved Neuro Rehabilitation Care

Bolivian representatives from the Santa Barbara Hospital spent a week in Honduras to observe a range of rehabilitation training and care methods for neuro trauma patients at Teleton Honduras. This South-South exchange facilitated the sharing of expertise and collaboration to solve healthcare challenges.

Medical Mission Trip BlogMary McCann SanchezSeptember 30, 2024NNI, Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute, neurotrauma, Neuro FeatureComment

From Bolivia to Wisconsin: The Resident Education Program Takes Flight

In a groundbreaking collaboration with Solidarity Bridge this fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Neurological Surgery will welcome the first Bolivian neurosurgeons as part of a one-month observership program.

Medical Mission Trip BlogLindsay DoucetteSeptember 6, 2024NNI, Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute, Neuro FeatureComment

NNI and UW-Madison Lead Course at Bolivian Neurosurgical Society 50th Anniversary Congress

Surgery Residents during previous on-site training course held in March of 2024, focusing on spinal surgery.

Medical Mission Trip BlogLindsay DoucetteAugust 23, 2024NNI, Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute, Neuro FeatureComment

When Healing is a Journey

A Bolivian nursing student needed highly-specialized brain surgery unavailable in the public healthcare system in his country. Read about his international journey to care and healing.

Dedication and Motivation Advance Surgical Care

“Successful surgical training is not dependent on the equipment, the finances, or even the planning as much as on the dedication of the people and their motivations for being here.”

See Far, Go Further

From virtual lectures to hands-on practice, our two day Spinal Surgery Workshop gave more than 25 neurosurgical residents from Bolivia and Paraguay an opportunity to advance their skills.

Bolivian anesthesiologist selected for ASA Global Health Fellowship

Solidarity Bridge partner Dr. Bianca Becerra, a Bolivian neuro-anesthesiologist committed to improving access to trauma care, named Global Health Fellow at the annual conference of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

Updates from the SB TeamSolidarity BridgeNovember 29, 2023NNI, Solidarity Visit, neurotrauma, anesthesiaComment

Truly a miracle!

José was the first of six patients with complex neurosurgical conditions operated this week at the Santa Bárbara Hospital in Sucre, Bolivia. These surgeries are part of a long-term effort drawing on the contributions of local and U.S. neurosurgeons, neuro-anesthesiologists, neuro-intensivists, and neuro-rehabilitation specialists toward a vision of establishing the Santa Bárbara Hospital as a premier neurotrauma center.

Medical Mission Trip BlogSolidarity BridgeNovember 16, 2023NNI, Joe Sherman, Sucre, Neuro Feature, neurotraumaComment

Promoting National Stroke Planning in Paraguay

Patients suffering strokes and aneurysms in Paraguay may wait months or years for treatment due to a lack of essential but highly specialized endovascular supplies. A generous donation by Stryker delivered during our June mission trip to Asunción is helping make neuro-endovascular care accessible for many such patients.

Medical Mission Trip BlogLindsay DoucetteSeptember 15, 2023Stroke, NNI, Neuro Feature, Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute, EquippingComment

Unique and Complex: The Art and Science of Epilepsy Treatment

Each day of the Neurology and Neurosurgery Institute mission trip on epilepsy care brings new reminders of the complexity of neurological disorders. Working in collaboration among a team of specialists improves chances for accurate diagnoses and successful treatments.

Groundbreaking Epilepsy Surgery in Bolivia

This week in Bolivia, we are celebrating a major achievement: the first-ever epilepsy surgery performed in the public children’s hospital of Santa Cruz!

Advancing Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Epilepsy in Bolivia

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases, but three-quarters of people living with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need. Our Neurosurgery and Neurology Institute (NNI) is partnering with colleagues at the public Children’s Hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to bridge this gap.

Medical Mission Trip BlogSolidarity BridgeAugust 28, 2023Neuro Feature, Neurosurgery & Neurology Institute, NNI, EpilepsyComment

Honoring the Locally Prioritized Needs of Our Host Countries

Solidarity Bridge is pleased to announce the formal adoption of an agreement of cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Paraguay.

Updates from the SB TeamSolidarity BridgeJuly 13, 2023NNI, Paraguay, Neuro FeatureComment

A Long Wait for Lifesaving Care

After years of watiing, 11 patients found the healing care they needed through our recent Neuro trip to Paraguay. For the three patients profiled here, they also found a supportive family to walk with them through their journey to healing.

Medical Mission Trip BlogSolidarity BridgeJune 8, 2023Neuro Patient, NNI, Paraguay, Joe Sherman, chaplain, Patient ImpactComment

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