The image of the aguayo as a transporter of life is a powerful one, reaching beyond the aesthetic to the functional, spiritual and cultural. We had seen aguayos carefully folded on hospital nightstands where Quechuan patients, garbed in a hospital gowns, awaited not only surgery, but information on the status of their health, specifically on the detection of cancer and its treatment. Marcela challenged us to identify what we now carry in our own aguayos: what the week in Sucre, Bolivia, in a cancer hospital, has given us to hold.

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.

Endoscopic transnasal surgery uses a tiny camera through the nose to remove tumors from the pituitary gland and skull base. U.S. neurosurgeon Richard Moser and Bolivian ENT Patricia Arteaga delivered a comprehensive course for 11 doctors eager to learn the technique.

Returning to the Chuquisaqueño Cancer Institute this week,  our goal is to leave the hospital team prepared to independently perform laparoscopic hysterectomies going forward.

At the close of our gynecologic surgery mission trip in Sucre, Bolivia, US missioner, Dr. Erin Stevens, shares what motivates her to continue with this work.

The ICO team has a prophetic presence in Sucre and the surrounding area, living the realities of life with cancer. Our mission team is grateful to be among those learning from the patients, doctors, nurses, and administrators at the ICO this week.

A five-women team departs this Saturday for Sucre, Bolivia, to work alongside OB-GYN surgeons at the Chuquisaca Cancer Institute (ICO). The primary goal of our visit is to advance training in laparoscopic surgical techniques for gynecologic pathologies.

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.

An estimated 70% of those who suffer epilepsy in Latin America and the Caribbean lack access to care. As we travel on mission and speak to dedicated local doctors, we know that these are not just statistics.

By physically traveling to Sucre, we channeled skills and resources that would be otherwise unavailable to our partner surgeons and their patients. Patients like Sergio, a thirty-two-year-old intensive therapy resident and father of two.

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.

After a week of interviews with medical staff at the Santa Bárbara Hospital in Sucre, it became clear to the Solidarity Bridge mission team that this was the right place for a long-term partnership to advance neurosurgical care. The team was impressed with the scope of the need, but also with the professionalism and commitment of the Santa Bárbara nurses and physicians who serve an incredible volume of patients in spite of significant equipment and human resource limitations.