A triathlete who sustained life-changing injuries in a hit-and-run accident has been discharged after 100 days in hospital.
Luísa Baptista was training on her bike when a motorcyclist hit her on a country lane on 23 December.
She sustained a head injury, a collapsed lung, and fractures to her collarbone, her leg, and multiple ribs.
She was taken to the ICU of a local hospital in São Carlos, near São Paulo, Brazil.
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On Christmas Day, she was transferred to a larger facility in São Paulo.
She was transferred to another hospital in Brazil’s largest city on 19 January after making significant improvements.
On 17 March, she shared a video on social media showing her taking her first steps after the accident.
And yesterday (1 Apr), after 100 days in hospital, she was finally discharged from the ICU.Luísa, 29, is determined to make a full recovery, as reported on Need to Know.
A day before her release, she told local media: “I can’t wait to get back. I’ll come back stronger, with absolute certainty.
“I see myself in the Olympics in four years. I know Paris is still too soon, but who knows.
“Maybe in Lima, I can become a two-time Pan American champion.
“That’s the goal for me.”
Luísa will now continue her rehabilitation at a clinic in São Paulo.
She will also undergo hip replacement surgery.
Luísa was first admitted to hospital in severe haemorrhagic shock and her heart stopped for eight minutes.
Despite this and the two months she spent in a coma, she didn’t suffer neurological damage.
Motorcyclist Nayn José Sales had been to a party with an open bar the night before the accident.
However, he later insisted he hadn’t drunk alcohol at the event.
Sales says he doesn’t remember the moment of the collision, which happened when he was on his way to work.
He was allegedly speeding because he was running late.
He’s under investigation for causing bodily injury while driving a motor vehicle.
However, he could face a more serious charge of attempted homicide with possible malice.
Luísa, originally from Araras, won the gold medal in the women’s triathlon at the 2019 Pan American Games.
She also won the gold medal in the mixed relay event together with Vittória Lopes, Kaue Willy, and Manoel Messias.
She represented Brazil in the women’s triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
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