A samba dancer went into the hospital for surgery on her uterus but was left heartbroken when she woke up to find her arm amputated.
Alessandra dos Santos Silva, 35, was admitted to the Hospital da Mulher Heloneida Studart in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in February after scans in the summer found growths in her uterus, as reported by g1.globo.com.
After going into surgery for uterine fibroids, doctors discovered a hemorrhage that resulted in the 35-year-old needing a total hysterectomy.
Family members visiting her noticed that her arm was bandaged, her hand was cold to the touch, and her fingers had darkened.
Her mother, Ana Maria, said: "They didn't even let us take a photo. I asked why her hands were bandaged. [They said] ‘Your daughter is very cold, that’s why we swaddled her’. It was already necrotizing the fingers. They hid it."
Her family was then informed that she needed to be transported to the State Institute of Cardiology Aloysio de Castro (Iecac) in Botafogo, at which time her arm was said to be black.
Her arm had become necrotic and doctors deemed it impossible to save. Silva's family were informed that it would need to be amputated in order to save her life.
The 35-year-old, who works as a passista (a skilled samba dancer) at the Academicos do Grande Rio school, was released from the hospital following the amputation.
The decision to remove her arm was taken when she was unconscious, and the first Silva knew about it was when she woke up to find that it had gone.
Following her release, she returned to the hospital a few weeks later where doctors became concerned about the quality of the stitches on her wounds.
Silva was readmitted on March 4 where she remained for a month before being deemed healthy enough to head home to continue her recovery.
Following the ordeal, the 35-year-old is now concerned about how she is going to be able to financially support herself due to missing a limb.
Her career as a dancer and working in beauty salons has become significantly harder because she now only has one arm.
"I want those responsible to pay, for the hospital to take responsibility because they managed to end my life. They destroyed my work, my career, my dream... everything," Silva said.
The series of events that led to the dancer having her arm amputated is being investigated by the Rio de Janeiro Health Department and the Civil Police who are looking into what occurred at the Heloneida Studart Women's Hospital.
We wish Silva all the best as she continues her recovery.
