Yesterday, I witnessed perhaps the saddest most shocking sight I have ever seen. Lenis Alvarenga arrived at St. Peter’s Church in Port Chester with a blanket covering her head to shield her from the light.

Underneath sat Lenis, her face unrecognizable, disfigured from the tumors and oozing sores that covered it. The 18-year-old Salvadoran teen suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors and neurological problems. XP sufferers lack the ability to repair DNA damage caused by sunlight.

Lenis is  here because UCET, a Port Chester-based nonprofit, raised the money to get her medical attention here. Her mother said in El Salvador doctors offered no hope.

Yesterday, I saw a girl in excruciating pain, unable to remove the baby wipe from her face for fear that it would fall off. She was surrounded by dozens of people praying for her, dedicated to giving her some sort of relief. It was tragic and touching at the same time.

Sadly, some of the posts on the forums today focus on the girl’s legal status and on her family bilking the U.S. health care system. I’m not sure that this blog post will change their opinions, but, for the record—and as mentioned in the article today—Lenis and her family have visas (which means they are here legally) and UCET is dedicated to raising the funds needed for her care. They have already collected $9,000.