Mariana Bridi da Costa: Miss World Finalist (PHOTOS) Loses Hands And Feet, Fighting For Life

UPDATE, 1-24-09: Mariana Bridi Dies: Miss World Finalist Succumbs After Amputations

Read the previous article from January 22, below:

SAO PAULO - A Brazilian model whose feet and hands had to be amputated because of an infection is clinging to life at an intensive care unit in southeastern Brazil.

Mariana Bridi's condition deteriorated overnight and was changed from "serious" to "very serious" on Friday, the Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat said in a statement.

The 20-year-old beauty pageant contestant is suffering a generalized infection that forced the amputation of her hands and feet earlier this week because the flow of oxygen to her limbs was reduced.

"The only thing that matters now is her life," boyfriend Thiago Simoes told Globo TV's G1 Web site.

Bridi is not breathing on her own and is undergoing hemodialysis at a hospital in the city of Serra, the secretariat said.

Bridi twice was a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World beauty pageant, according to local media, and participated in the 2007 Miss Bikini International contest.

Bridi fell ill in December and doctors originally diagnosed her with kidney stones, local media said. But her condition worsened and doctors then diagnosed a urinary tract infection that spread. She was hospitalized on Jan 3.

Story continues below

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FROM THE SUN ON MARIANA BRIDI:

Septicaemia set in her limbs, cutting off circulation and forcing doctors to amputate her hands and feet.

Devastated Mr Simoes said: "We are all absolutely distraught and are just praying now that she can pull through.

"She fell ill on December 30 and we took her to hospital where she was misdiagnosed with a kidney stone.

"They gave her some medicine and sent her home. But two days later she started getting worse.

"We took her back to hospital and they said she had a very serious infection.

"She got more and more sick, and had no blood circulation to her limbs.

"First she lost her feet, then on Tuesday she lost both her hands.

Comments

[Susan Allen]

Baloney - UTIs are not treated with antibiotics - they are treated with sulpha meds - this is horse sh--
this woman had a UTI and didn't get it diagnosed in time, plus she lived in a 3rd world country without adequate medical care - what a goof! Her death was unnecessary and a huge mistake...remember - to avoid UTIs drink water water water....

[Aracele Caires- Erickson]

Dear Ms.Susan Allen

This is all very unfortunate, but i like to comment on your post re: "plus she lived in a 3rd world country without adequate medical care" - TO your information, Brazil has one of the best Doctors!it may be called a "Third world country" but here you are in your " First World Country" and seem to be quite closed minded to what seems to be going on in our beautiful land of the free, a country that if it wasn't for the "Third World Country" helping us financially amongst other " Fourth and Fifth World countries" would be doomed just a little more than we already are. Now with the topic at hand, Dear Madam, Such a things happen in every country, uncluding here in your "First world country, My own child has been misdiagnosed here in the States. The untimely death of this young woman has been receiving much attention to the fact she was becoming high profile due to her modeling, if she was any "Joe" out there, i doubt anyone of us would be here talking about this very sad and unfortunate death. My prayers go out to the people who were fortunate to have known this woman while the Lord had her shinning here on earth... Unfortunately, her time was up... leaving suffering the ones that mattered to her while she was alive....As a parent, noone dreams of buring your child...

[Sylvia Berrios]

Wow... I didn't know we needed help from the "3rd World Country"... Maybe we should call in all the debts from all the countries we HAVE helped! Mariana, que Dios te bendiga en el cielo!!

[peterghansonmd]

The reason Mariana died is one of grave concern for the medical community and the general public: antibiotics are no longer working as they should.

When antibiotics, first sulfas, then penicillins were introduced in the 1940's, they worked on virtually all bacteria they encountered.

So why are antibiotics no longer as effective? OVERUSE!!! .

The same thing happened to mosquitoes when DDT was introduced. First almost all died, but the few that remained were resistant, and all the generations they bred were almost "bullet-proof". Today the mosquitoes laugh at the DDT truck as being impotent.


Mariana did nothing wrong; she had a good diet, obviously exercised, and was clearly in great shape. But still she was not protected by the antibiotics that we have come to assume will shield us all from her terrible outcome.

While we all mourn the loss of such a fine person, we should reflect on the overuse of antibiotics that caused this disaster. We should try to eat organic foods that have no antibiotics in them, and we should not expect our doctors to give antibiotics for every sore throat, just the ones that test positive on a culture.

Paradoxically, medical science has created a "super-race" of bacteria, even as it developes new and better medicines. It is very humbling as a doctor to realize the days of the "guaranteed cure" are gone.

For more medical perspectives, view www.peterghansonmd.com, and see his blog at www.facemaster.com/blog

[afriendin09]

My father died of a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) in 2006. The CDC says 99,000 people a year die of these infections. That's 271 people a day.

We patients need to get informed and involved in our own care! I started a company to provide patients with "infection defense" kits, including information I spent 2 years gathering. Please visit www.infectiondefense.com to learn more.

[Harrier]

This story needs to come down. The woman has died and the title as well as the story is inappropriate

[Camarosc35]

This should be investigated.

[rubinoff]

oh my, this is sooo sad.....this should be investigat­ed....look­s like the medical mafia is all over the world...they take your money and send you home, far too many mistakes happening out here.

[duze]

May she rest in perpetual light.

[DaOne]

I am saddened at the death of this young woman. But I am equally saddened by the deaths of people daily who have the same affliction or others yet were not so physically attractive.

A life is a life irrespective of its shell.

R.I.P.

[Knowledgeseeker]

She was really beautiful and looked healthy in these pictures, who would have though she was sick ! this is a real tragedy.

[discourse jockey]

She's apparently not relevant enough for some people at wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Mariana_Bridi_da_Costa

Please, go there and tell them to keep the article!

[Hedonist88]

What a sad, sad story.
May she rest in peace and may her family and friends find strength to bear through this diffcult period.

[iamvalid]

This is such a heart wrenching story. This beautiful young woman could be your sister or daughter. To see her succumb to such a horrible illness is such a waste. I remember sitting in the ICU waiting room in the Mayo Clinic speaking with a couple who had a daughter undergoing surgery for a similar disease. She had been operated on so many time, I fear they had lost hope. I remember thinking the that there should be a sign over the door of that waiting room that would read "abandon all hope ye who enter. This is the room of last hope." I often overlook the fact that they often save a life instead of losing one.

It is only a small gesture that we can only offer her family and friends out deepest sympathies and regrets. Godspeed Mariana, Godspeed.

[theconsigliere1]

Que Dios te Bendiga, mi amiga. Tu eres preciosa.

[NALLY]

pIease extend your hands toward her and pray that God will deliver her from this affliction. The fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much!

[Phidippides]

Or not, unfortunately.

[Larkinvos]

God chose not to.

[PWM]

God is silent on suffering and that is why 30,000 children die each day.

[diahni]

For those scientifically inclined, pseudomonas is the bacteria that causes hot tub folliculitis. Stay away from any kind of public hot tubs! Pool and tub chemicals meant to kill bacteria don't do a very good job of killing it, but it can't survive a dry environment. It's very sad that a doctor diagnosed her with a simple urinary tract infection. From a distance, it is hard to know what was and wasn't done for her, but I am wondering if a more aggressive treatment might have saved this gorgeous young woman.

[wolfdogNM]

This is a sad, and terrible and tragic story. Unfortunately more, and more bacteria are becoming very resistant to multiple antibiotics. Ranchers that feed their cattle antibiotics in the feed are part of the problem, too. That gives the bacteria all the more chances to mutate and evolve into these microbial monsters.

[mexamerican]

what a terrible story. reading things like this makes you wonder if there's a god. no one should die like this. tragic.

[Phidippides]

There are many stories that raise that question. It can't be answered definitively. We just need to be kind to each other. If there is a god of some kind, he/she/it isn't the kind who imposes justice in an unjust world, or protects us from the capriciousness of the fates.