Both the Chagas disease scenario and the cardiac health field have greatly evolved since our Pacemaker Program began over 20 years ago. Dr. Marta Vakulenko of Los Angeles, USA, and Dr. Paola Rodriguez of Cochabamba, Bolivia, represent a new generation of surgeons who will continue to build our bridge to care for cardiac rhythm patients into the coming decades.

Home visits with our patients are an opportunity to pause, to look at the richness of others, and to examine our own comfortable world. We were grateful for the opportunity to visit two of our pacemaker patients this week.

Traveling to Bolivia, we’ve found a renewed sense of hope in the ability to be present with our colleagues during a time of global turmoil. The power of human connection and the joy of being physically present remains stronger than ever.

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.

Most epilepsy patients in Bolivia do not have access to specialized care. Our seven-part series of webinars for Bolivian pediatricians, neurologists, internists, nurses, and family members of patients with epilepsy aimed to provide basic training and education to begin to address the treatment gap.

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.

We are inaugurating a new Neurosurgery and Neurology Institute which will house multiple initiatives in research, education, resource mobilization, and service—all for the benefit of patients and practitioners in South America.

Bolivian colorectal surgeon, Dr. Fernando Nogales, reflects on how he came to join our mission. His path illustrates challenges Bolivian doctors face in fulfilling their vocations, and how our programs can help overcome some barriers.

A first of its kind diagnostic campaign screened more than 60 children for congenital heart diseases in the city of Tarija.

Our Extraordinary Support Program has reached more than 600 patients—with medical assistance and hope—since its inception in August 2020.

Solidarity Bridge Board member, Cynthia Judge, suggests that the most important part of communication is the opportunity to elevate the human experience. Storytelling is a skill that must be developed, with precision and practice. With the neglected surgical patient as our inspiration, we can tell their stories with the conviction that they will be heard, and all our lives will be changed.

Tania Avila and Fr. Steven Judd, Maryknoll lay missioner and priest, respectively, remind us to leave space in our backpacks (and in our hearts and minds) as we prepare for travel. If our bags are fully packed - heavy with obligations and loaded with expectations - they can become a burden that prevents us from seizing the opportunities for mutual learning that our encounters offer.