Brazilian amputee model dead at 20

(CNN) -- Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa, whose hands and feet were amputated in a bid to save her from a deadly and little-known illness, died early Saturday, two friends of the model told CNN.

"Unfortunately Mari couldn't resist any longer. She passed away at 3 a.m. today," Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil, said in an e-mail to CNN.

Renato Lindgren, a friend of the model who runs a blog dedicated to her, confirmed da Costa's death.

On his blog, Lindgren wrote that he and other friends were going to the hospital.

"On behalf of all the family, we are grateful for the support and the affection that the entire world has sent to us," he wrote.

Da Costa, 20, had fought a pernicious disease that has ravaged her body and forced doctors to perform the amputations and extract part of her stomach as well as both kidneys.

She had been breathing through a respirator, officials at Dorio Silva Hospital in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo said Friday.

Da Costa suffered from necrosis, or the fast deadening of tissue, caused by septicemia. Septicemia, triggered by a bacterial infection, causes insufficient blood flow that can lead to organ failure.

Da Costa first sought medical advice after feeling ill in late December. Hospital officials said she was transferred to Dorio Silva on January 3 in "septic shock," a serious medical condition caused by an inflammation.

Da Costa was first diagnosed as suffering a urinary tract infection. By the time the infection was detected, it had developed into septicemia.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/24/brazil.amputee.model/index.html?iref=topnews

Such a sad story and such a scary illness.

:cry:

I also find it scary because they don't seem to know why someone can be healthy one moment and then deteriorate to such an extent within days. It can happen to anybody and how many knew that it was the 10th leading cause of death in the US? I sure didn't........

:scared:

But they actually DO know how bacteria kill so quickly in many cases. They can produce toxic substances that rapidly interfere with vital cellular functions. WAAAAYYYYY too much info to go into here. My pathogenic bacteriology course was far and away the toughest microbiology class I took due to the HUGE amount of info we had to learn about how bacteria cause disease. Most of which I have gladly forgotten because I needed the brain space.

I heard in the news tonight that she had a kind of bacteria that has proven to be immune to existing drugs. It's a shame that someone so young died such a gruesome death.

:-(

Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Here's the Wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomonas_aeruginosa

:hi:

This is the first I've heard of this bacteria too. Very tragic.

So very sad.

A young life extinguished quickly and so painfully. May she rest in peace.

;(

I've never heard of anything like this.

How awful.