Sau Paulo: A Brazilian model whose feet and hands were amputated because of an infection is fighting for life at a hospital in southeastern Brazil.
Mariana Bridi is in "very serious" condition following an infection that forced her hands and feet to be amputated, the Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat said in a statement.
Doctors said the infection was caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is resistant to multiple kinds of antibiotics and has reduced the flow of oxygen to her limbs.
The 20-year-old beauty, Bridi, was twice a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World pageant.
Her feet were amputated last week, and earlier this week doctors were forced to surgically remove her hands.
Bridi also underwent surgery to have part of her stomach removed as doctors tried to contain internal bleeding, local media said.
"The only thing that matters now is her life," boyfriend Thiago Simoes told Globo TV's G1 Web site.
Bridi is not breathing on her own and is undergoing hemodialysis at a hospital in the city of Serra, the secretariat said.
