Maria Mamani (right) with Precious Blood Sister Maria Jesus, who escorted her to Chicago.

Maria Mamani’s heart beats with the echoes of kings. Her body suffers some of their afflictions as well.

Twelve-year-old Maria’s elfin-like stature belies her heritage. Born in Bolivia’s high Andes Mountains, the blood of the Incas—ancient lords of the continent—certainly flows in her veins. But in that heritage also are the seeds of her pain: a congenital hip deformation, osteomyelitis (a bone infection) and tuberculosis which has settled in her kidneys, ailments not easily treated in her homeland.

Maria was observed by the medical mission team from the Archdiocese of Chicago last year. Today, she is in Chicago being evaluated for treatment at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

The goal of making Maria well is one of the fruits—though certainly not the first—of the series of medical and other missions encouraged by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Juan Hinojosa, for years the director of the Hillenbrand Institute at Mundelein’s Center for Development in Ministry, heads up “Solidarity Bridge: Chicago Catholic Medical Mission.”

The CCMM is lay-run but includes pastoral staff. The group, which consists of volunteer medical professionals, travels to Bolivia up to three times a year to offer treatment, expertise and—perhaps as important—a sense of connection between the people of America, North and South. This connection, Hinojosa says, is the sort encouraged and supported by Pope John Paul II in “Ecclesia in America,” his exhortation to the Synod of Bishops for America in 1997.

The statistics of the medical mission—now three years old—are impressive: There have been six visits by 87 medical “missionaries” to three locations in Bolivia; 3,200-plus patients have been treated; nearly 400 surgeries performed; more than $500,000 in medical supplies and equipment donated and more than 200 heart pacemakers donated.

The pacemakers are especially important, said Hinojosa, because of a local parasite-borne infection called “chigas” which affects the blood and ultimately weakens the heart.

The pacemakers, said Hinojosa, help counteract the damage.

Chicago Auxiliary Bishop John Manz and several archdiocesean priests and deacons have been part of the teams.

Maria, who walks with difficulty and is small for her age, said Hinojosa, is the first Bolivian patient the CCMM has brought here for treatment.

She is a “country girl,” he said, and hails from the high valleys outside the city of Cochambamba in southwestern Bolivia. The city is large, he said, but like much of the country, poor.

Maria is an indigenous member of the Quechua Indian tribe; until last year, Hinojosa said, she spoke no Spanish. An orphan, she was being cared for by her grandmother. The Chicago team discovered Maria during their mission last November at a hospital in Cochambamba. They sought to treat her conditions but ultimately decided that more needed to be done.

Dr. John Watson, a member of St. Joseph Hospital staff for 31 years who was on the November medical mission, took charge of Maria’s care. When the team returned to Chicago, he began the task of arranging for her travel to the United States and her care. St. Joseph Hospital offered to treat Maria at no cost.

Watson, an internist, said bringing a patient to the United States from a country like Bolivia takes persistence and lots of paperwork, both in getting travel documents from the patient’s home country and making arrangements for treatment here. Both he and his wife Rita, a nurse, are veterans of previous medical mission journeys to Bolivia. He said in an interview that they expected to return for yet another stint in the fall.

Watson said he and his wife came upon Maria in the hospital in Bolivia where they were working with the mission group.

“She was on crutches,” he said, and was helping out around the hospital while they sought to treat her ailments. He was affected by Maria’s plight. “Children can get to you,” Watson said, “they bring out a greater compassion.”

The journey here for treatment has been a eye-opener, Watson said. “It was her first plane ride; her first real big city.”

How is Maria faring while diagnostic efforts and treatment continues? “She’s happy,” he said. “She’s a wonderful little patient; not fearful or suspicious” despite the culture and language problems.

In Chicago, Maria is staying with a couple who know Spanish and is “getting along fine,” Watson said. She’s even learning to write.

Molly Gaus, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph Hospital, would not discuss Maria’s case specifically, but confirmed that the hospital does have a fund to help pay for the care of patients who have no other resources.

Hinojosa said Maria will likely have to have surgery and other treatment. She has already had a CAT scan and other diagnostic workups. Watson said her treatment could last more than a month.

Osteomyelitis generally is treated with lengthy courses of antibiotics, intravenous or oral, of up to two or three months, plus surgery to drain the infection.

Watson said that on his trips to Bolivia, the medical doctors—as opposed to the surgeons—rarely found conditions they could not treat on-site. The difficulty, he said, was the lack of follow-up care.

“With the surgeons, they do their work and it’s done,” he said. “With a medical condition, you need to follow up.”

In addition to bringing medical treatment and hope to Bolivia, Hinojosa’s Solidarity Bridge vision has other thrusts. These include an “Enterprise Mission” which seeks to bring economic health to the area through business training, consulting and low-interest “micro-loans” to entrepreneurs.

Also, the group is planning for an Education Mission later this year which will work with Bolivia’s unique blend of church-run public schools. Teachers from Chicago-area Catholic and public schools will journey to Bolivia to work beside local instructors teaching English, said Hinojosa.



For information on the missions, call Solidarity bridge, (847) 328-7748 or e-mail: [email protected]

ern Bolivia. The city is large, he said, but like much of the country, poor.

Maria is an indigenous member of the Quechua Indian tribe; until last year, Hinojosa said, she spoke no Spanish. An orphan, she was being cared for by her grandmother. The Chicago team discovered Maria during their mission last November at a hospital in Cochambamba. They sought to treat her conditions but ultimately decided that more need to be done.

Dr. John Watson, a member of St. Joseph Hospital staff for 31 years who was on the November medical mission, took charge of Maria’s care. When the team returned to Chicago, he began the task of arranging for her travel to the United States and her care. St. Joseph Hospital offered to treat Maria at no cost.

Watson, an internist, said bringing a patient to the United States from a country like Bolivia takes persistence and lots of paperwork, both in getting travel documents from the patient’s home country and making arrangements for treatment here. Both he and his wife Rita, a nurse, are veterans of previous medical mission journeys to Bolivia. He said in an interview that they expected to return for yet another stint in the fall.

Watson said he and his wife came upon Maria in the hospital in Bolivia where they were working with the mission group.

“She was on crutches,” he said, and was helping out around the hospital while they sought to treat her ailments. He was affected by Maria’s plight. “Children can get to you,” Watson said, “they bring out a greater compassion.”

The journey here for treatment has been a eye-opener, Watson said. “It was her first plane ride; her first real big city.”

How is Maria faring while diagnostic efforts and treatment continues? “She’s happy,” he said. “She’s a wonderful little patient; not fearful or suspicious” despite the culture and language problems.

In Chicago, Maria is staying with a couple who know Spanish and is “getting along fine,” Watson said. She’s even learning to write.

Molly Gaus, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph Hospital, would not discuss Maria’s case specifically, but confirmed that the hospital does have a fund to help pay for the care of patients who have no other resources.

Hinajosa said Maria will likely have to have surgery and other treatment. She has already had a CAT scan and other diagnostic workups. Watson said her treatment could last more than a month.

Osteomyelitis generally is treated with lengthy courses of antibiotics, intravenous or oral, of up to two or three months, plus surgery to drain the infection.

Watson said that on his trips to Bolivia, the medical doctors—as opposed to the surgeons—rarely found conditions they could not treat on-site. The difficulty, he said, was the lack of follow-up care.

“With the surgeons, they do their work and it’s done,” he said. “With a medical condition, you need to follow up.”

In addition to bringing medical treatment and hope to Bolivia, Hinojosa’s Solidarity Bridge vision has other thrusts. These include an “Enterprise Mission” which seeks to bring economic health to the area through business training, consulting and low-interest “micro-loans” to entrepreneurs.

Also, the group is planning for an Education Mission later this year which will work with Bolivia’s unique blend of church-run public schools. Teachers from Chicago-area Catholic and public schools will journey to Bolivia to work beside local instructors teaching English, said Hinojosa.

For information on the missions, call Solidarity bridge, (847) 328-7748 or e-mail: [email protected]