Marta Helena Barbosa is 39 and has spent nearly her whole life with a face that makes people look twice.
She lives in Trindade, near Goiânia, Brazil, and has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors in nerve tissue. She says the condition began when she was a small child and progressed over the years until her face took on an appearance the publication describes as looking as if it were melting. It is not a medical term, but the description gives an idea of how the world sees her. She, on the other hand, sums it up differently: her worst enemy is the mirror.
The rejection has very concrete consequences. Marta says the condition prevents her from finding work, and the monthly sickness benefit she receives from the local authorities is not enough to support a family. Her two adult children work as servers in the city to help with the bills, and she sells sweets and recyclable materials on the street to pay the mortgage. That is why her greatest wish is to have plastic surgery. She does not want it to look different, but so she will no longer be the reason people close doors to her. The case was reported some time ago, and there is no information on whether she managed to have the surgery.
