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Brazilian Model Loses Hands and Feet to Urinary Infection

January 22, 2009
Evil Beet
Mariana Bridi da Costa
89 Comments

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File this under People Who Are Having a Worse Day Than You:

A 20-year-old model who was a finalist to represent Brazil in the Miss World contest has had her hands and feet amputated after contracting a severe urinary infection.

Mariana Bridi da Costa was sedated in a hospital in Serra, in Brazil’s southeastern state of Espirito Santo, and on artificial respiration following the procedures, according to local media reports.

Bridi was diagnosed with an infection by the Pseudomonas aeroginosa bacterium, which can often prove fatal. Septicemia set in in her limbs, cutting off circulation and forcing doctors to amputate.

Her boyfriend, Thiago Simoes, told the G1 news website that Bridi fell ill on December 30, but was initially misdiagnosed with kidney stones.

The infection quickly spread, causing her to go back to hospital for tests that revealed her condition. Surgeons had to act to remove her damaged hands and feet.

How awful!

Hopefully she survives this terrible ordeal!

How does one contract such a serious urinary infection??? And what can I do to prevent it from happening to me???

Thanks Anthony!

89 CommentsLeave a comment

  • i’d be piih-hiiisst! seriously she likely built her whole life on people thinking she’s beautiful, now people are going to look at her like she’s a freak. that violent snap from one social position to the other extreme…i can’t imagine. she should be put on suicide watch, i’m not kidding. although i guess it would be way more difficult now

  • Why bother to mutilate her and then parade her on “special” occasions? Mutilating a person is saving its life, this is our point of view, generally speaking. Its a damm fuckin shame. Nobody should be left crawling like this, absolutely nobody. Its like death anyway. Euthanizing her is the only good thing and normal option left.

    • Life isn’t what you get, it’s what you do with what you get. Maybe she has a strength in her that will get her through this & more. My best wishes to her.

      • I agree with you, Indigo, all these people “she should live anyway” “she’s better off dead” why don’t we leave it up to her, yeah? Kind of her life her choice. When they are in her position then they can make that call

    • OH MY GOODNESS? I HOPE YOU ARE JOKING.

      EUTHANIZE HER? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!?

      Im sure, while she is in distress about the loss of her feet and hands, she is glad to still have her life.

      The same goes for many other amputees, i doubt that the notion of “if i dont have all my body parts, just kill me” is too common.

    • OMG LMAO

      Ya she has no hands and no feet, she can’t be pretty anymore which is her job so lets euthanize her.
      I’ll meet you in Brazil and we can do it our selves.

      crazy fucks

  • Wow. She is absolutely stunning, much more so than 99% of the trollops parading around Hollywood then showing up on these blogs. There is no God. And if there is one, he hates women.

  • Wow. That’s crazy. It sounds like a misdiagnosis led to the disease taking a hold of her limbs. And it sounds like the infection was caused by a bacteria that hangs around soil, plants, and water and always waits for an opening to attack damaged cells. It can cause a UTI but doesn’t necessarily mean it came from the nether regions. She could have just had a sore somewhere and drank contaminated water or something like that.

  • I don’t know how she got that infection, but I’d gladly bet that NOT having a healthy diet did the infection a great favor…

  • that is so terribly sad! she’ll have to be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. that boyfriend better stick around. i’m gonna start taking cranberry pills asap, just in case.

    • Yeah, I immediately poured myself a tall glass of cranberry juice after reading this post. It’s so awful for the girl. Ughhh.

  • hi beet, as a med student i hope i can help

    P. Aeruginosa can cause urinary tract infections, wound and sepsis. Sepsis happens when u contract a bacteria and it spreads so quickly it goes to your blood. it can cause shock which is ultimate shutdown of the body due to bacterial infection, or decrease in oxygen to the heart.

    This specific bacterium is transferred mostly through contaminated water and contaminated hospital equipment (dirty humidifiers, hospital respirators, etc.) Sometimes also through urinary catheters. Its hard to prevent this one, other than washing hands thoroughly, or staying away from dirty water and unclean hospitals..

    Usually you can combat these types of infections with antibiotics, but i guess in her case, it was too late…. :(

      • No- tetanus is caused by the Clostridium species which is another microorganism. Pseudomonas is a tricky bacteria to get rid of in the first place and often attacks people who are immunocompromised. She was initially diagnosed with kidney stones which allowed the UTI to remain untreated and get worse- thus allowing the bacterium to enter the bloodstream and cause havoc in other places such as her extremities. Being a microbiology Ph.D. student I was saddened to see this- it could have been so easily treatable.Too bad- she is beautiful!

    • Melissa; Thanks SOOO much for this CORREST information !

      I just got out of the hospital with an e coli UTI that had gotten into my bloodstream FAST, due to a blocked ureter; and my boyfriend had seen this today and freaked on me ! “Did you know you could DIE from this ?!?!?! ” Well, yes,..but I hadn’t told HIM that, wuss that he is…..

      I am not a water drinker; I’m trying my damnest to do better.
      Hygenically; drs tell me I’m doing all I can; but I still have a damn stent now until I can get to a micro surgeon to reconstruct the ureter and take out the section of scar tissue left by a previous kidney stone; which is what started all my woes…. But I had NOOOO idea that a person could lose limbs ! PASS ME ANOTHER BOTTLE OF WATER PLEASE !!!!

    • You dont like the jokes, dont read it.
      Im that fucking insensitive.

      This isnt exactly a site that requires you to take every thing seriously.
      You want to talk about your feelings and care bears and rainbows and shit take it else where.

      • Hey Ewww,I thought anybody could say on here what they wanted to?So if someone thinks your comment was fucked up,no need to get all defensive.

        We all have a right to say what we want,like you did.Even those of us who want to talk about our feelings.

  • And wipe front to back like our mothers taught us. Seriously, poor girl, I wish her the best. And people can get it from a cut too- right? I read something a few years ago about a guy with a similar story and it started with a paper cut. So scary.

  • WOW… would somebody tell her this, a few weeks ago it could be such a nightmare… Her life is full of challenges, firstly being one of the finests, can be hard to stay real true woman, (flying so high…) and then, as maybe it was worked out, falling the other side of world.. Again hard to stay true. Maybe harder.. Is there no God? I would’t say… But we get challenges to learn. I hope she can make it, and wish the very bests! She can be happy after accepting this case. I am asking myself if I could do this in her shoes?? I don’n know..maybe.. maybe not..

  • Im not joking, leaving a person like this alive is a killing joke. If u are so optimistic from this pov, why dont u try to put urself in her shoes? Cut ur hands and feet and then let me see how u manage to live happily ever after. Oh, I forgot, dont matter the quality of life, it matters that ure alive. Go and check how much water u have in ur head(s).

    • Oh, this happens here, too. Both of my parents died of complications due to sepsis at the same hospital (years apart). I lost my dad last November and septic shock is absolutely horrible. My heart goes out to this girl and her family.

      • ignorant to think it won’t happen if you are an american in an american hospital, and then they’ll only treat you if you have insurance. terrifying.

  • Wow.

    That’s so so unfortunate. :( But such is the test of human nature, resilience to bounce back. I’m glad she’s alive. :)

    And to whomever said you get it from sex. Not true.

    Ahem: “Experiencing stress, having a weak immune system, eating a poor diet and damaging the urethra in childbirth or surgery can predispose you to getting UTIs. UTIs are so common that most women and some men acquire at least one UTI in their lives.”

  • P. aeroginosa is an opportunistic pathogen. It’s found on everyone as part of the normal flora on your body and doesn’t cause people problems unless they are immunocompromised.

    And no it wouldn’t have been prevented by a tetanus shot. Tetanus is caused by a completely different bacterium, Clostridium tetani.

    To answer your question Beet, you can avoid UTI’s by keeping the rest of you healthy (to ward off other opportunistic pathogens), wiping front to back (E. coli, found in feces, can also be a cause of UTI’s) and urinate after intercourse.

    Oh, and water is more effective than cranberry juice. Cranberry juice is just full of sugar and bacteria/yeast feed on sugar. There are few studies that have actually shown cranberry juice to help a UTI, and the couple that have used really sketchy research methods. It’s a placebo effect. Just so you know.

    • HEY EVERYONE…..Google- “D-MANNOSE”. I read about it in PARAPLEGIA NEWS…[ I am a person with paraplegia and have been dealing with urinary track infections for a long time]…so anyway, it works better than cranberry juice and is way better than a course of antibiotics….just thought it was worth mentioning after reading about this unfortunate story..

  • This is just awful… but you do not have such problems when you eat normally and have a wealthy body!Just keep eating in order to have a good immunosystem guys!!!

    • This had nothing to do with eating healthy or not. You really ought to do a bit of research on septic shock.

  • This is just awful… but you do not have such problems when you eat normally and have a wealthy body!Just keep eating in order to have a good immunosystem guys!!!

  • Lesson learned: Simple Hygiene
    1) Wash your hands after using the washrooms (specially public toilet)
    2) Use a paper towel to open a public toilet (that’s after you use it)
    3) Wash your hands after taking a ride on a public transportation
    4) Wash your hands before eating
    5) Clean your mouse and keyboard regularly
    6) Do not believe in “30 seconds” rule
    7) Wash your front and back after sex

    Did i missed something?

  • clean your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom! I’m always a bit suprised people don’t do that, you have so much bacteria on your hands that may get down there when you wipe! Of course wash them after aswell.

    I know a lot of americans are crazy about showering everyday and so on, but when it comes to that area you’re actually in bigger risk of problems by over washing it, and never use soap there! it takes away the natural, good bacterias down there. pee after sex and pee regulary, drink a lot and drink cranberry juice! and be careful when it’s cold outside, don’t sit down on cold benches etc.

  • I’m a clinical microbiologist, and this bug is not found on everybody, unlike E. coli or Staph, it’s pretty much always considered a pathogen in whatever body site culture it is found. It is not normal flora although it is quite commonly seen esp. in hospitalized patients. It can be found in stagnant water, contaminate a bottle of soap, etc. If you continue to have urinary symptoms and the culture comes back negative you should insist on repeating them and making sure it has not been diluted out. I wonder if they just have unskilled lab workers in Brazil, how this got missed or why the cultures weren’t repeated. What a shame. How sad. I think I’ll go culture my own urine now. P.S. Every UTI I used to have (only a few) came from sex. It was historically nicknamed honeymoon cystitis. Although wearing too big of tampons which restricted urine flow have caused 2 in the last few years.

  • JUST HEARD ABOUT AT CNN – ITS VERY TERRIBLE TO LEARN AND VERY SHOCKING THAT A LITTLE GIRL OF JUST 20 HAS CAUSED SUCH A HORRIBLE DISEASE AND PASSED AWAY IN JUST MONTHS

  • I also read this on the front page of CNN this morning. RIP…very sad situation. Hopefully this will cause others to become more aware, as to prevent these types of tragedies.

  • Most of the commentators here are such absolute wankers, and I am sorry to share the face of the earth with you all. Did anyone take a minute to pray for her?
    each and everyone of you (the couple of decent ones excused), will face your own hell one day-because thats what lifes like-I doubt you ‘ll have the strength of character to get through much.

  • You people are a disgrace. I am so sad that so many people lack sensitivity and education. They curse in writing, and probably more when they talk, which just shows there lowly background. Everybody is a shock jock like Howard Stern. Cursing doesn’t make you cool or anyone afraid. I’d like to have you deported to a third world country, and then you can curse all you want with the bad attitude in the sand somewhere. I hate that one of my tax dollars supports any of you.

    The girl’s dead. It won’t matter who she slept with.

  • YOU GUYS WHO HAVE SAID SO MANY HORRIBLE THINGS ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN NEED MANY PRAYERS.. aND YOU OBVIOUSLY DO NOT HAVE A DAUGHTER. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU.

  • A reply to Julia:
    A “30 seconds rule” is a dropped-food rule.
    According to legend, dropped food that spends less than 30 seconds on the floor is still safe to eat because bacteria need more time to taint it.

  • @Markus I get your drift on where you were going there. I often think of my past and use it as a means to analyze where I am and where I want to get to. Where I struggel is balancing it all out. How do you guys balance things out?

  • She died you bunch of jerks! And if you think that dying would be better than living w/o hands and feet then i have to question your quality of life. Yet seeing how so many of you are completely insensitive, it pretty much answers any question one could have had. You aren’t funny either. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7849061.stm

  • Queria saber como a Mariana está hoje, não sei nada dela, más me chamou atenção porque temos o mesmo sobrenome e o que aconteceu com ela foi uma coisa terrível por ser tão jovem, tem alguém da família que possa me responder? estou fazendo a árvore genealógica e realmente queria saber noticias da Mariana, fique com Deus, beijos.

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