By Estephania Baez

At just four years of age, little Mariana was diagnosed with a rare disease. When doctors informed her mother that she suffered from Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a condition that only affects one in one million children, all her mother could do was ask herself over and over why her daughter, against such staggering odds?

<p><a href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/stories/san-ysidro-celebrates-a-great-woma…; rel="attachment wp-att-34286"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-34286" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bag-168x300.jpg…; alt="bag" width="168" height="300"></a