Marlene is a 36 year old woman who lives with her husband, 4 teenage children, and her elderly parents about 12 hours from Santa Cruz. They live in a small farming community of about 30 families, where they grow rice, corn, yucca, and plantains. During the 3-4 months of the rainy season, the roads are often impassable, and the community has to go without basic necessities.

The nearest medical care is 6-8 hours away, depending on the condition of the roads. Marlene first heard about the Mission of Hope clinic from her sister-in-law, who lives in Santa Cruz. Marlene was in a lot of pain from what was thought to be a tumor growing in her abdomen. The “tumor” had grown so large that it was pressing on all of her organs. She lived like this for about 2 years. Finally, the pain was so intense that she had to stop working.

Marlene came to the Mission of Hope clinic and was put on the list for surgery. The “tumor” turned out to be an enormous 2 1/2 lb. ovarian cyst about the size of a large cantaloupe! Marlene feels much lighter now and is very happy to be free of the pain that she lived with for so long. She is very grateful to Mission of Hope and to the team of surgeons who came from so far away.