The health of a Brazilian model has deteriorated after her hands and feet were amputated because of an infection. Mariana Bridi da Costa's condition was changed from "serious" to "very serious", the Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat said in a statement. The 20-year-old, who was twice a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World contest, is in an intensive care unit in the southeast of the country. She is suffering from an infection which forced the amputation of her hands and feet because the flow of oxygen to her limbs was reduced. Ms Bridi da Costa's feet were amputated last week. Doctors were forced to surgically remove her hands earlier this week. She is also reported to have had part of her stomach removed as doctors tried to contain internal bleeding. The model is not breathing on her own and is undergoing haemodialysis at the hospital in the city of Serra. "The only thing that matters now is her life," her boyfriend Thiago Simoes told Globo TV's G1 website. Ms Bridi da Costa fell ill in December and was originally thought to be suffering from kidney stones. But after her condition became worse, she was then diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Doctors said the infection was caused by the life-threatening bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known to be resistant to multiple kinds of antibiotics. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090124/twl-brazilian-model-s-health-worsens-3fd0ae9.html I wonder how much women said in their minds "I wish i was her"....
this shit can happen to anybody... a few days ago one of the guys i know from when i was a teenager died... he was 24 n he was submitted to the hospital like a few months ago but the dr said that he would be "fine" after a while.... yeah right n im iffy about what dr.'s say cuz seems like a lot of them dont know n misdiagnose quite often.... in a wealthy country like this all i can think is...damn.... wtf....
shocking, but it would be extremely scary when doctors misdiagnose you even though they are suppose to be professional. but poor girl though >.< young age to lose her limbs......
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is actually a very common organism. It exists everywhere and our natural immunity usually prevents infection. However, those with weakened immunity may be highly susceptible to these kinds of infections. In this case, a simple Urinary Tract Infection evolved into full blown septicemia, with multi-organ failure. This is strikingly similar to the clinical path of the classic Toxic Shock Syndrome, where an isolated but highly concentrated Staph or Strep infection then aggressively cascades system wide in a catastrophic series of failures that ultimately kills a patient. The fact that this patient is already on dialysis and have shut down her peripheral vasculature (requiring serial amputation) is already worrisome. To include gastrointestinal bleeding (Stress Ulcerations? Coagulopathies?) requiring partial gastrectomy (antrectomy) is another poor turn of events compounding the original problem; sad to say, but her overall prognosis is extremely poor. Lay persons will always harbor some degree of doubt about the overall medical acumen, especially if an outcome is poor. However, many never realize that in the face of such overwhelming clinical odds, with several life threatening crises rapdily coming one after another, salvaging these sorts of patients may be akin to trying to hold back the sea. You can only do but so much before the battle is lost. :tear: ADDENDUM: Late breaking news, sadly, the woman passed away: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/24/brazil.amputee.model/index.html
An update, she passed away on Saturday from the infection. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/24/mariana-bridi-dies-miss-w_n_160551.html RIP
