Behind the Scalpel: The Cahua Family

Faithful to our mission to be a lighthouse for Christ through a medical ministry in the Peruvian Amazon region of South America, Scalpel has taken almost 30 teams to Pucallpa, Peru over the past 13 years. While in Pucallpa, those teams have provided orthopaedic surgical care to patients in the community, as well as educational opportunities in the operating rooms for local doctors, medical personnel, and medical students.

In 2015, the educational opportunities expanded beyond Peru, but with a continued heart for Peru, with the opportunity to sponsor a Peruvian medical student, Luzmila Cahua, for a one-month fellowship in a US hospital. The impact of this was undeniable, and as subsequent team members worked alongside Luzmila, the passion to develop local Peruvian surgeons became a reality with the establishment of a Peruvian Orthopaedic Surgeons Fund.

In February of this year, our medical mission trip included a one-day trauma conference at the Pucallpa Medical University, consisting of lectures in different orthopaedic surgical specialties presented by four Scalpel orthopaedic surgeons on our team. This year also saw our second sponsorship of a Peruvian surgeon, Dr. Miguel Cahua, for multi-faceted training in the US, including at the SIGN Fracture Care International Annual Conference.

We are grateful for God’s gift to all of us through the growth of the mission and opportunities to invest more deeply at a relational and foundational level in Peru. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8