This is a story about a bridge and a daughter.

The bridge is a 52-meter-long span, lovingly named the “MerBear Memorial Bridge,” across the Huaraca River in Bolivia. It serves as a lifeline for the 1,260 people in the surrounding communities who previously were isolated when the riverbed, which served as the lone road in and out of the community, flooded.

The daughter is a precious 16-year-old named Meredith, whom my wife Susan and I lost to a sudden blood clot caused by oral contraceptives. 

What’s the connection?

I want to share our story of personal tragedy but also of giving back to encourage you to learn more during blood clot awareness month.

The story begins in 2014 when I became aware of isolated rural communities that need “last mile” infrastructure. In many developing countries, these communities struggle for basics such as water and medical care because they lack paved roads and other infrastructure that would allow services to reach their villages. I realized this was an opportunity to use my talents as an engineer to help others.

Meredith Malone

In 2015, I participated in my first bridge build in Panama with my older daughter, Macey. The following year her younger sister, Meredith, accompanied me to Bolivia.

At the time, I was serving on the board of Bridges to Prosperity, a nonprofit committed to ending rural isolation through constructing trail bridges. We attended a bridge inauguration for a local Bolivian community.

When Meredith saw how much the bridge meant to the community, she immediately asked to give back by joining a bridge build as soon as she could. I told her when she turned 16, she could do a build. In March 2020 Meredith finally celebrated that birthday, but due to COVID-19 we were not able to do a build that summer.

Unfortunately, even when the pandemic passes, she will never get that chance.

In October, Meredith called my wife and I and let us know she had passed out at school. By the time we got there, an ambulance was rushing her to the nearest hospital. There we learned that the blackout was caused by a blood clot that had developed from use of oral contraceptives she had started taking for weight management.

Meredith’s condition did not improve, and on October 13, we lost our little girl, who would never achieve what she could have. Her interest in problem solving and improving others' lives would never be used to make the world brighter.

PCL construction executive Patrick Malone puts the final touches on a plaque dedicating a Bolivia bridge to his daughter Meredith who died of a blood clot in 2020.

Lost and searching for a way to somehow keep her legacy alive and make sense of what had happened, a life-long friend of mine asked, “Why not build a bridge in her name?” Once the seed was planted, I was determined to make it come true. Following God’s path, I began working with a nonprofit called Engineers in Action to identify a potential site for the bridge. We identified a site in Huaraca, Bolivia. 

Honored to help build this bridge in Meredith’s name and for the community of Huaraca, a team of builders quickly came together, including my colleagues at PCL Construction and some of my hometown friends.  People seemingly came out of nowhere to help us fund the project.

In the summer of 2021, the team, including my wife Susan and Meredith’s Uncle Gary, set out for Bolivia. During the next two weeks, this team worked with the community and our partner organization Engineers in Action to deliver the project.

Before construction of the bridge, there had been 20 injuries and 5 deaths in recent years during attempted river crossings in the rainy season. 

Malone and daughter Meredith in 2016 attended the dedication of a bridge in Bolivia. She was inspired and dreamed of helping to build a bridge one day.

Although we will forever miss our MerBear and grieve about all she would have accomplished and experienced, her spirit lives on in the opportunity and safety her bridge provides. Each time a community member crosses her bridge to school, to market, to receive health care or find employment, she is honored. And love lives on. 

Patrick Malone is business development director at PCL Construction. In 2021 he joined the board of Engineers In Action and now serves as treasurer. To learn more about National Blood Clot Awareness month, visit the website of the National Blood Clot Alliance dedicated to building awareness and community among people who are affected by blood clots or are at increased risk for them.