Maria Velasco hails from Catarama, Los Rios Province. At 63 she was suffering from morbid obesity. She weighed almost 400 pounds, 20 of which were attributed to an enormous tumor in her pubic area which kept her in great pain and prevented her from walking. This feisty woman underwent surgery and continues treatment, free of charge, at the Luis Vernaza Hospital thanks to La Junta de Beneficencia's intervention.