Joffre Delgado, 42 years old, has had a very tough life. He has endured a disc hernia for a long time which gradually left him bedridden. Thanks to La Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil he was operated free of charge at the Luis Vernaza Hospital whereupon he has improved the quality of his life and can walk again.

When Joffre was young he underwent some very difficult times. His childhood was filled with seemingly never - ending bitterness and ill-treatment. After so much sadness, life rewarded him with two daughters, who are a treasure according to him.

Sadly, the hernia he endured drastically affected his life and that of his daughters. "I felt intense back pain when I walked, leaving me unable to work normally, until one day I couldn´t move anymore and became completely paralyzed for over a year", he commented.

For Joffre this situation was unexpected: "It was so painful to have my daughters see me this way. I was alone, bedridden, unable to do anything. I became depressed seeing my daughters suffer and felt incapable, realizing I couldn't help them. My economic situation worsened and I could no longer walk", he says.

Desperate, this young father visited different hospitals where pain control was all he received. Until one day, during a medical appointment, he was informed that he needed surgery. All seemed well; he was admitted and given pre-operative treatment. However surgery was not possible at that Health Center because the doctor attending his case no longer worked there.

Desperate and saddened, Joffre decided to seek help in the media and approached the RTS T.V. Station. They made the case known and Hospital Luis Vernaza personnel belonging to La Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil immediately established contact with him.

"It was a blessing from God. I couldn't believe it. Had I know someone would help me in this way, I would have been fine a long time ago. It was so nice. It was the first time in mi life I've been treated this way. I felt so important, I was treated very well.....At the Vernaza Hospital they performed all types of tests and the good thing is they show you the results and offer explanations. They told me I had to be operated on. I was nervous; I went into an operating room and felt nothing. When I woke up I was already in my bed, having been operated and without pain," Joffre points out.

Today Joffre is pain free. "Everyone is surprised at my recovery. Here is the hand of God because, everything has been free of charge at the Hospital Luis Vernaza and they continue to help me....I thank la Junta de Beneficencia Hospital Luis Vernaza with all my heart, on behalf of my daughters and my family for all their work, medical personnel attention and may God bless them all", he concluded.