Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
New York Post
Woman in US on exchange program left paralyzed, requires breathing aid after contracting rare infection
By Isabel Keane,
12 days ago
A young Brazilian woman working in Colorado through an exchange program was left paralyzed and fighting for her life in the hospital after she was infected by a rare bacteria, her family said.
Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, 23, was hospitalized on Feb. 17 suffering with paralysis, dizziness, double vision and shortness of breath — and diagnosed with botulism two weeks later, an associate of her family told the Aspen Daily News.
Albuquerque Celada has also been on a breathing aid at Swedish Medical Center in Denver ever since.
Her sister, Luísa Albuquerque, wrote on social media that the Denver hospital is paying for her flight home to Brazil via air ambulance.
“We think that recovery close to family and friends is much faster. Comparing the costs between staying here and returning to Brazil, the return is still cheaper,” her sister said.
Each day she spends in the hospital costs about $10,000, the family associate added.
“The travel insurance she had ran out a long time ago, and her hospital bills are only rising.”
Albuquerque Celada had been working in Aspen on an exchange program since November.
Her sister said she started to feel sick and had to leave work early one day in February, telling Portugese outlet UOL , “She took a shower, had dinner and went to bed, but she had shortness of breath, blurred vision and dizziness.”
She had messaged her friends about the sickness and when they arrived the following morning her condition had worsened significantly.
“When they arrived, my sister was already much worse, she could barely breathe on her own and she had facial paralysis. Some other very weak muscles, weak arms, weak legs. She went to the hospital and, soon after, she was 100% paralyzed,” her sister said in Portuguese.
Her family said that they do not know where she contracted the infection, but that they believed to have been foodborne.
“Botulism was identified only 15 days after symptoms appeared, but it is not known which food was contaminated with the bacteria,” one family member wrote on social media, according to the newspaper.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0