The first time Gabrielle Barbosa had a urinary tract infection, in December 2022, was also her first warning sign. At the age of 20, she says she had never been sick and, therefore, did not even know how to take a pill. At the time, she sought medical help and took antibiotics, but she couldn’t get the problem out of her head. A month later, she went back to the hospital for tests and was told everything was fine. So, she decided to move on with life — until she was taken by surprise in March, when she discovered a generalized infection that ended with the amputation of her feet and hands.
— One day, I felt pain in my kidney in the middle of work and I rushed to the hospital, but there they treated it as renal colic. They put me on a drip, but I vomited a lot – said Gabrielle to GLOBO. — I did tests and we saw that my infection had already spread. The doctors say, today, that I shouldn’t have left there, but that day they sent me home. But when I got there, I fainted and my mother called Samu. My saturation was low.
From that moment on, she had to deal with another challenge: the lack of vacancies at the hospital. A resident of Franca, in São Paulo, she says that she went to the city hospital, but stayed in the corridor of the place before being sent to a “little room”, as if they had “set up an improvised ICU”. At the same time, doctors were trying to stabilize her pressure. Unsuccessfully, they said that “they were going to ask for a vacancy”. At 7 am the next day, the opportunity arose.
I got the vacancy on March 31, but I was already very bad — he recalled — I was intubated and had two cardiac arrests. I was in an induced coma for six days and when I woke up I found that my hands and feet were bandaged. The doctors took a while to tell me they were going to amputate, but I already knew.
The surgeries took place on the 18th and 19th of April and, according to her, her reaction was “calm”. She recalls that “I just wanted to know if she could have a normal life” and “as independent as possible”. After being discharged, on the 26th of that month, the young woman returned home and, since then, has been trying to adapt to the changes. In May, she published a video telling her story and asking for participation in the raffles she would start doing to help with expenses.
Since then, it has already gained more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and a “crowdfunding” organized by the “Razões para Acreditar” page. The goal is to raise R$ 520,000 to cover the costs of the four prostheses. While she awaits the result of the donations, which so far have accumulated more than R$ 180,000, she says that she “does not get sad”, because she knows that “there are many worse things”. With serenity, Gabrielle summarizes: “I was very happy just to be alive”.
read more:
Amputation was not a medical error
According to urologist Daher Chad, although urinary infection is associated with its most common type, when it only affects the bladder, the disease can affect any organ that has to do with the urinary system. Most of the time, it is like cystitis, a condition that is usually milder. However, the kidney can also become infected, leading to pyelonephritis. In such cases, it can evolve into more serious conditions.
In cystitis, the bacteria is in the bladder. When it is in the kidney, it can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body,” she explained. — So, it is possible to evolve into an infection in the lung, brain, heart, anyway. And then it becomes something much more serious, causing a systemic infection. The person starts to have low blood pressure and this means that the heart cannot take it if it is not treated quickly.
Also according to Chad, this systemic infection, also called sepsis, requires medication to help maintain blood pressure. They reduce blood circulation, directing blood to the main parts of the body, which are the brain and heart. But, he said, even if not in all cases, the use of these drugs contributes to the limbs becoming necrotic. (See causes, symptoms and treatments below).
‘The important is not to give up’
Today, Gabrielle does physical therapy twice a week and has psychological follow-up. She comments that she is getting ready to have her prostheses fitted, but she still faces some challenges. To go to the doctor, for example, she needs help getting in and out of her car, which can barely accommodate the wheelchair she currently uses. The young woman relies mainly on the support of her mother, Regina, who stopped working as a saleswoman to help her at home.
At 51 years old and with stage 5 asthma, she can’t lift weights. After following her daughter’s case, she has been experiencing intense anxiety attacks. To GLOBO, Regina says she is “living on medicine”, but that she started to feel better when she saw that the young woman started to receive support on the internet – and that the prospect of getting the prostheses, previously distant, is now closer to her reality.
My cousin has to be here to help because she can’t catch me. It’s hard, the chair doesn’t fit in the trunk, so it’s always squished in,” said Gabrielle. — My chair isn’t adapted for me either, I can’t walk alone with it, it’s borrowed and very heavy. Also, I’m sleeping in the hospital bed that an unnamed woman rented to me.
With the dream of being a digital influencer, she points out that she is happy to see “how many good people there are in the world”, although she is still ashamed to talk openly about herself on the internet. Now, Gabrielle receives loving messages from all over the country and says that if she could answer everyone, she would say that “everything has a new story” and, “regardless of the problem, the most important thing is not to give up”.
— I always thought that there are good people, but I never imagined that there were so many. I am very happy because I see that the goodness of the world prevails. There are people who don’t help with money, but I have received many beautiful messages and prayers too. It’s very cute to see this affection. It’s not because something bad happened that it’s all over. Everything has a fresh start.
What causes a urinary tract infection?
- Chad explained that there is no single cause for the infection, but that eThere are factors that contribute to its occurrence. They are: little fluid intake, holding pee, increased frequency of sexual activity, intestinal problems and diseases that lower immunity, such as diabetes;
- “In the case of increased sexual activity, if the woman (who is more predisposed to developing the condition) begins to realize that the infection always occurs, then she needs to undergo preventive treatment. Is different. In these cases, preventive treatment is done with a urologist, with medication”, said Chad;
What are the symptoms and how is the treatment?
- Symptoms of a simple urinary infection (cystitis) are: pain and burning when urinating, increased urinary frequency and even blood in the urine. In the case of pyelonephritis, the symptoms may be: fever, chills and malaise;
- According to Chad, the first step is to confirm that the infection was caused by bacteria, as there are infections caused by other microorganisms, such as candidiasis;
- In the case of simple urinary infection, the treatment is short and done with antibiotics, often with a single dose. In the case of a complicated infection, treatment lasts at least two weeks.
The globe
The first time Gabrielle Barbosa had a urinary tract infection, in December 2022, was also her first warning sign. At the age of 20, she says she had never been sick and, therefore, did not even know how to take a pill. At the time, she sought medical help and took antibiotics, but she couldn’t get the problem out of her head. A month later, she went back to the hospital for tests and was told everything was fine. So, she decided to move on with life — until she was taken by surprise in March, when she discovered a generalized infection that ended with the amputation of her feet and hands.
— One day, I felt pain in my kidney in the middle of work and I rushed to the hospital, but there they treated it as renal colic. They put me on a drip, but I vomited a lot – said Gabrielle to GLOBO. — I did tests and we saw that my infection had already spread. The doctors say, today, that I shouldn’t have left there, but that day they sent me home. But when I got there, I fainted and my mother called Samu. My saturation was low.
From that moment on, she had to deal with another challenge: the lack of vacancies at the hospital. A resident of Franca, in São Paulo, she says that she went to the city hospital, but stayed in the corridor of the place before being sent to a “little room”, as if they had “set up an improvised ICU”. At the same time, doctors were trying to stabilize her pressure. Unsuccessfully, they said that “they were going to ask for a vacancy”. At 7 am the next day, the opportunity arose.
I got the vacancy on March 31, but I was already very bad — he recalled — I was intubated and had two cardiac arrests. I was in an induced coma for six days and when I woke up I found that my hands and feet were bandaged. The doctors took a while to tell me they were going to amputate, but I already knew.
The surgeries took place on the 18th and 19th of April and, according to her, her reaction was “calm”. She recalls that “I just wanted to know if she could have a normal life” and “as independent as possible”. After being discharged, on the 26th of that month, the young woman returned home and, since then, has been trying to adapt to the changes. In May, she published a video telling her story and asking for participation in the raffles she would start doing to help with expenses.
Since then, it has already gained more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and a “crowdfunding” organized by the “Razões para Acreditar” page. The goal is to raise R$ 520,000 to cover the costs of the four prostheses. While she awaits the result of the donations, which so far have accumulated more than R$ 180,000, she says that she “does not get sad”, because she knows that “there are many worse things”. With serenity, Gabrielle summarizes: “I was very happy just to be alive”.
read more:
Amputation was not a medical error
According to urologist Daher Chad, although urinary infection is associated with its most common type, when it only affects the bladder, the disease can affect any organ that has to do with the urinary system. Most of the time, it is like cystitis, a condition that is usually milder. However, the kidney can also become infected, leading to pyelonephritis. In such cases, it can evolve into more serious conditions.
In cystitis, the bacteria is in the bladder. When it is in the kidney, it can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body,” she explained. — So, it is possible to evolve into an infection in the lung, brain, heart, anyway. And then it becomes something much more serious, causing a systemic infection. The person starts to have low blood pressure and this means that the heart cannot take it if it is not treated quickly.
Also according to Chad, this systemic infection, also called sepsis, requires medication to help maintain blood pressure. They reduce blood circulation, directing blood to the main parts of the body, which are the brain and heart. But, he said, even if not in all cases, the use of these drugs contributes to the limbs becoming necrotic. (See causes, symptoms and treatments below).
‘The important is not to give up’
Today, Gabrielle does physical therapy twice a week and has psychological follow-up. She comments that she is getting ready to have her prostheses fitted, but she still faces some challenges. To go to the doctor, for example, she needs help getting in and out of her car, which can barely accommodate the wheelchair she currently uses. The young woman relies mainly on the support of her mother, Regina, who stopped working as a saleswoman to help her at home.
At 51 years old and with stage 5 asthma, she can’t lift weights. After following her daughter’s case, she has been experiencing intense anxiety attacks. To GLOBO, Regina says she is “living on medicine”, but that she started to feel better when she saw that the young woman started to receive support on the internet – and that the prospect of getting the prostheses, previously distant, is now closer to her reality.
My cousin has to be here to help because she can’t catch me. It’s hard, the chair doesn’t fit in the trunk, so it’s always squished in,” said Gabrielle. — My chair isn’t adapted for me either, I can’t walk alone with it, it’s borrowed and very heavy. Also, I’m sleeping in the hospital bed that an unnamed woman rented to me.
With the dream of being a digital influencer, she points out that she is happy to see “how many good people there are in the world”, although she is still ashamed to talk openly about herself on the internet. Now, Gabrielle receives loving messages from all over the country and says that if she could answer everyone, she would say that “everything has a new story” and, “regardless of the problem, the most important thing is not to give up”.
— I always thought that there are good people, but I never imagined that there were so many. I am very happy because I see that the goodness of the world prevails. There are people who don’t help with money, but I have received many beautiful messages and prayers too. It’s very cute to see this affection. It’s not because something bad happened that it’s all over. Everything has a fresh start.
What causes a urinary tract infection?
- Chad explained that there is no single cause for the infection, but that eThere are factors that contribute to its occurrence. They are: little fluid intake, holding pee, increased frequency of sexual activity, intestinal problems and diseases that lower immunity, such as diabetes;
- “In the case of increased sexual activity, if the woman (who is more predisposed to developing the condition) begins to realize that the infection always occurs, then she needs to undergo preventive treatment. Is different. In these cases, preventive treatment is done with a urologist, with medication”, said Chad;
What are the symptoms and how is the treatment?
- Symptoms of a simple urinary infection (cystitis) are: pain and burning when urinating, increased urinary frequency and even blood in the urine. In the case of pyelonephritis, the symptoms may be: fever, chills and malaise;
- According to Chad, the first step is to confirm that the infection was caused by bacteria, as there are infections caused by other microorganisms, such as candidiasis;
- In the case of simple urinary infection, the treatment is short and done with antibiotics, often with a single dose. In the case of a complicated infection, treatment lasts at least two weeks.
The globe
