Bolivia Blog

2018 Bolivia trip

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NAVMC took 18 medical professionals to Bolivia the first week of November. The team saw almost 50 people in clinic and booked 36 patients. We performed 40 procedures including many gallbladder removals, hysterectomies, uterine and bladder prolapse repairs, lipoma removals, and hernia repairs. Dr. Andy Aldridge and Dr. Carolina Martinez repaired an inguinal hernia on […]

Ultrasound Machine

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In March, NAVMC’s board approved $2500 toward a new ultrasound unit for the clinic in Palacios, Centro Medico Humberto Parra. The unit just arrived and they shared some great photos of the staff posing with it. This ultrasound will not just be used in the care of pregnant women. Ultrasound in Bolivia is used to diagnose […]

NAVMC Continues to Offer Surgical Aid in Bolivia

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Unfortunately, last year we had to turn down a few patients for surgery. One was turned away because his hernia was so large our surgeon did not feel comfortable repairing it with the limited resources offered in Portachuelo. Thanks to a generous American donor NAVMC allocated money toward the surgeries and/or workups for all the […]

Patient Testimonial

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“One day I was working at my kitchen job and I suddenly felt an insurmountable pain in my lower abdomen.  The pain was so strong I thought I was going to die. I could not move and I was screaming. They took me to the doctor who told me that if I ever wanted to work […]

Shoes

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When it rains in Palacios, a small rural community a 30 minute drive from the nearest paved road, everything turns to mud. The roads, which were almost entirely made up of dust the day before, fill up with pools upon pools of water, with the occasional mud pile to remind you of the road that […]

Roofs

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In June 2017 NAVMC helped to fund a construction project in Palacios, Bolivia. The team removed the commonly used thatch roofs in favor of corrugated metal ones. The new roofs serve to reduce the spread of Chagas Disease in the village. Chagas is a chronic condition caused by a parasitic protozoa resulting in severe heart and intestinal problems. Our surgical team […]