In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Vitória Micall was 25 years old and expecting her first daughter. She was 37 weeks pregnant when she contracted COVID-19, and her health deteriorated rapidly.
Her lungs were severely affected, and doctors had to perform an emergency C-section. After the procedure, Vitória was intubated and transferred directly to an intensive care unit.
In the ICU, she suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest. The lack of oxygen caused severe brain damage and completely changed her life.
When she was finally able to return home, Vitória could no longer walk or speak. She also needed a feeding tube and a tracheostomy to help her breathe.
Four years later, in 2024, she was 29 years old and living in Fortaleza with her mother, Maria, who took care of her. Her daughter Louise, who was 4 years old at the time, lived with her father and visited Vitória every 15 days.
Despite the severity of her injuries, her family began to notice small improvements. One of them was especially significant: Vitória had begun to follow her daughter with her eyes.
Doctors considered the injuries irreversible, and Vitória needed intensive rehabilitation treatment, including physical therapy and speech therapy. However, her health insurance only covered two weekly sessions of physical therapy lasting one hour and one half-hour speech therapy session.
In September 2024, the Brazilian organization VOAA launched a campaign to help fund her treatment. The goal was to raise R$160.000, and ultimately more than R$70.000 was raised.
The money helped fund treatments such as physical therapy and hydrotherapy, as well as medications and examinations.
Four years after the day COVID changed her life, Vitória continues to depend on her family for many of her daily activities. But she also continues to move forward, step by step, with the hope of regaining some of the functions she lost.