For 30 years, she was told there was nothing that could be done.
Sandra Milena Castañeda, 30, was diagnosed as a child with Von Recklinghausen’s neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that disfigured her face. The tumors affected one eye, one ear, her upper jaw and her lower jaw. Then came the headaches, vision problems, and difficulties hearing and eating. But what hurt the most, according to those close to her, was other people. “Society has been very cruel. Ever since she was very young, she has endured a lot of bullying”, said her best friend, Andrés Cardona, who found her in a very deep depression.
At her first doctor’s appointments, she was told there was no cure, so she resigned herself to it. Every night, she asked God to send her angels. Then the Colombian Air Force and influencer Nadia Cartagena brought her case to light, and plastic surgeon Juan Carlos Vélez Lara made his clinic in Medellín available to operate on her for free. After six hours in the operating room, they managed to remove close to 70 % of the skin lesion and reposition her ear, eyebrows and nose. She still needs four more surgeries.
How many Sandras are still hidden away because someone thought it was easier to look the other way?