When Doña Hilda arrived at the elder care home in Esquipulas, she was in a state of deep depression. Her two children said she’d tried to take her own life several times, and claimed that they were just tired of taking care of her.

At 68 years old, it would seem she’d have much to live for, and still more life to live, even without her husband, who’d recently passed. But no, Doña Hilda told Madre Vilma at the elder care home that she had no desire to live.

While we can’t say exactly what caused Doña Hilda’s deep depression, we do know this: The photos of her when she first arrived at the home, and of a few hours later, are strikingly different. In the first, she stares off into the distance, detached from the world around her; within a few hours, there she is…starting to smile again, and looking right into the camera.

As Madre Vilma said, “Sometimes it is due to lack of love they arrive or fall into depression.”

Welcome home, Doña Hilda.