Accompanying Margarita on Her Healing Journey

By Joe Sherman

Joe visiting Margarita and her granddaughter the night before surgery.

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.

Carmen Salses, one of Puente de Solidaridad’s social workers, on a home visit to Margarita’s family.

Margarita’s life has been full of hardships, even before her illness. Of her four children, two daughters now live in Florida - one of which made the harrowing journey by land to the U.S.–Mexico border with her two-year-old on her back. Margarita’s other two children remain in Santa Cruz, where she also lived up until her husband’s death. After his death, she survived by selling small items on the street, but as her health declined, she moved to Sucre to live with her niece and her niece’s two children.

Dr. Richard Moser examining Margarita on the team’s first day in the hospital.

As Margarita’s symptoms worsened, and she developed double vision and started losing parts of her visual field, her family knew she needed medical help. In August 2024, a neurologist finally saw her and ordered a CT scan. The results were shocking: Margarita had a pituitary tumor. She was referred to the neurosurgery department at the Santa Barbara hospital for surgery, but as often happens in an overburdened healthcare system, her surgery was delayed.

In October, she was called in to be admitted, but when she arrived, she learned that the neurosurgeon was unavailable, and she had to go home. Meanwhile, her headaches became excruciating, and her vision deteriorated further. It was a heartbreaking situation.

Solidarity Bridge became a lifeline for Margarita when she was selected as a patient for our November Neurosurgery Medical Mission trip. This marked the third trip in a long-term collaboration with the Santa Bárbara Hospital, with a focus on enhancing patient care for neurotrauma and neurological disorders, providing specialized training in neuroanesthesia and spine surgery, advancing critical care research, and expanding neurorehabilitation efforts. Our team of Bolivian and U.S. specialists worked together to ensure Margarita received the urgent care she so desperately needed.

Combined Bolivian and U.S. surgical team in the O.R.

I remember sitting with her the night before the surgery. She was terrified. The anesthesiologists had explained she might need a central line, which brought back painful memories of her late husband, who had a similar line when he was critically ill. She broke down in tears, and my heart broke for her. That night, I prayed with her and reassured her she was in expert hands. I promised to be with her and her family every step of the way.

Joe visiting Margarita after a successful surgery!

Joe visiting Margarita, her daughter, and granddaughter the night before surgery.

The day of the surgery was tense but filled with hope. Her family gathered outside the operating room, waiting anxiously for news. Inside, a team of Bolivian and U.S. neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, and an ENT specialist, all coordinated by Solidarity Bridge and Puente de Solidaridad, worked together on the delicate transsphenoidal hypophysectomy to remove her tumor. The surgery took about four hours. When the team finally came out with the news that the tumor had been removed without complications, the relief was palpable. Her family was overjoyed.

Margarita stayed in the Intensive Care Unit overnight for monitoring, and while she may still need follow-up care, her headaches are gone, and her vision has been restored. Watching her family’s gratitude and seeing the transformation in Margarita is a reminder of why this work matters. Being part of her journey was an honor I will always carry with me.

Joe Sherman is a Solidarity Bridge accompanier and chaplain, facilitating reflection with the medical team on mission and accompanying patients and their families, both emotionally and spiritually, during their medical treatment.