June brought two historic firsts to neurosurgery in Paraguay—both made possible through the collaboration of Solidarity Bridge and our dedicated partner doctors in the U.S. and Paraguay. For the first time in the country, surgeons successfully performed a cerebral double bypass and a flexible endoscopic intraventricular surgery.

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

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.

Our first three days in Paraguay included a Stroke Symposium, endovascular procedures, a cerebral bypass surgery, a presentation on revascularization, dinner with the Paraguayan Neurosurgical Society, and a two-day workshop on microsurgical bypass skills.

On our fourth medical mission trip to the Hospital Nacional de Itauguá in Asunción, Paraguay our Neurosurgery & Neurology insitute team will work with their counterparts to advance AVM surgeries.

Our neurosurgical partnerships in Paraguay began only five years ago, but in that time we’ve shared 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.

Paraguay is characterized by its land-locked isolation, and this isolation was exacerbated over the past two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. That context has made it especially rewarding to take strides in solidarity with our Paraguayan colleagues – implementing unified plans for mutual collaboration around common goals.

COVID cases are on the rise again in Paraguay, and our partners there have asked us to postpone our plans for a neurosurgery mission this month.

In early 2021, after months of dialogue and planning between Solidarity Bridge, Puente de Solidaridad, and our medical partners, we launched three series of virtual exchanges connected to the Solidarity Bridge Neurosurgery Program.

Our shipment of supplies arrived in Paraguay as the pandemic began to surge. The delivery was presented to the hospital as small source of solidarity and support in the midst of growing health crisis.

Since the beginning of the orders in the U.S. to “shelter in place” Solidarity Bridge has remained connected to our solidarity community in Paraguay. Today we share a letter from one of our partners.

During this second mission trip to Paraguay, rather than treat patients, we are starting by listening. We have listened to key leaders from medical, governmental, and faith backgrounds with whom we hope to partner in the future. Developing this local network of support is essential to making our efforts viable and impactful. We cannot do this work alone.