14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, one of the saddest and, at the same time, possibly easiest to prevent tragedies shook the fashion world to its core: Brazilian model Mariana Bridi, two times Miss World finalist and rising star, had her feet and hands amputated after being infected with the pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria virus that quickly spread in her bloodstream and cut circulation to her limbs. On Saturday, she passed away after her state developed into septicemia and necrosis, friends of the model confirmed for CNN.
“Unfortunately Mari couldn’t resist any longer. She passed away at 3 a.m. today,” Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil, told CNN. Renato Lindgren, a friend of Mariana and also administrator of a dedicated blog, confirmed the tragic news.
“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 on the blog, adding that he, family members and other friends were going to the hospital to pay their last respects.
Bridi’s case got international attention mostly because her condition was misdiagnosed when she presented herself to the doctor in December, as her boyfriend told the media a couple of days ago. “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.” Thiago Simoes explained.
When the infection diagnosis was established, it was already too late for the 20-year-old model. Doctors had to amputate her feet first in the hope to save her life. A day later, it became clear that the infection had gotten to her hands as well, and doctors cut them off. She was put on a respirator, but chances of her surviving the ordeal were pretty significant, as both Simoes and Mariana’s father told the media. Sadly, this was not the case.
“She told me she was praying to stay alive, that she still had a lot to do on this earth, that she wanted to go on with her plans. She comes from a humble family and she was the main breadwinner. She never dieted, never took pills [...] she is a very simple, very warm human being.” Simoes told CNN a few days ago, revealing that Mariana had woken up from coma and spoken to him.
Mariana Bridi was a finalist in the search for Brazil’s Miss World contestant in 2006 and 2007, won Best Body in China at the Miss Bikini international competition, and had a very promising modeling career ahead. She was 20 years old.