1999 was the year her life took a turn. Aside from the terrifying earthquake that destroyed Armenia and shook Quimbaya to its core, her father died, she divorced her husband, and she suffered a stroke that paralyzed half her body. However, perhaps if she had not suffered through those tragedies, she would have never discovered the world of goldsmithing and become the jeweler she is today. She remembers the pain she felt when she tried to move her left arm. Likewise, she remembers feeling like she would not be able to go on. She also recalls how she cried when her saws broke or when her colleagues in wheelchairs accidentally spilled hot materials on themselves and got burned. Yet, above all of this, she praises the moment when she and her group of apprentices from the Asociación de Discapacitados de Quimbaya (Quimbaya Association of People with Disabilities) followed the advice of their teacher, Luz Helena Buitrago, and discovered the wonders of the pre-Colombian Quimbaya culture. This allowed them to transform their sorrow into beautiful butterflies, crescent moons, birds, poporos, and stamps. She also learned to work with semi-precious stones like carnelian and green agate, yellow and green jade, onyx, and malachite. Her joy has been caused by her work with metals and the fact that she has mastered her craft, which turns her days into charms and earrings and shows everyone that nothing is impossible.

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