A beautiful Filipina teenager's face has been ravaged by a mystery illness that started as a pimple. ( Before and after photos at end of video)
Mary Ann Regacho, 17, noticed a blackhead pop out on the side of her nose last year in Nueva Ecija, the Philippines.
At first, she thought the stubborn pimple breaking out on her face for weeks was only due to hormonal issues. She gave birth to a baby boy last year at age 16 and thought the pimples were normal.
However, she squeezed the spot and a few days later it started to become painful until it started to spread across her face ''like a balloon inflating''.
The young mother of one tried to cure the infection with herbal medicines at home but without success. Speaking this week, she said the growth has spread across the bridge of her nose, her cheeks and forehead.
Mary said: ''I thought it was only a common pimple, but it hurt so much I could not sleep at night. I tried everything to cure it but nothing worked.
''Now, I feel like my face will never be the same again.''
Her husband, Albert Sales, works part-time in a neighbor's farm without a steady income, so she could not afford a hospital or medicine.
Now, the lump has almost covered her face and affecting her vision as it had reached the corner of her eyes.
After almost a year of enduring the painful mass, she went to the hospital to have it checked.
However, the small provincial hospital did not have the proper equipment to diagnose her mysterious disease so they had to transfer to a bigger facility.
Unable to pay for medical bills, the worried husband Albert has now appealed to good Samaritans for help.
In a video recorded by their aunt, Albert can be heard saying: ''I want to ask kind people for donations so we can finally send my wife to a hospital.
''We only earn enough for ourselves and our one-year-old baby so I can't afford her medical bills.''