Devastated brother of healthy 39-year-old who went from being perfectly fine to fighting for life in intensive care within DAYS of becoming infected with Covid relives his heartbreaking goodbye in hospital before she died
The brother and best friend of a young woman who died from coronavirus have recalled their heartbreaking goodbye as her life slipped away in ICU.
Adriana Midori Takara, 39, a Brazilian woman living in Sydney died on the weekend at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital not long after contracting the virus, despite having no underlying health conditions.
Her cousin said she was put in hospital to have surgery for thrombosis (blood clotting) in both legs and expressed fears about getting Covid, but her brother doesn't believe she was vaccinated.
'What I know is because she was 39 it still not her age to be able to make a booking for the vaccine, that is all that what I know,' her brother Helio told A Current Affair.
Adriana was just a year too young to be eligible for a Pfizer jab, which is limited to 40-year-olds and over in Sydney.
Adriana Midori Takara, 39, a Brazilian woman living in Sydney died on the weekend not long after contracting the virus, despite having no underlying health conditions
Her brother Helio (pictured right) and best friend Fernanda remembered Adriana as a 'special' and 'very caring' woman
She moved to Australia more than a decade ago to study, earning a masters from Kaplan business school.
She was hoping to get permanent residency before her death.
Despite being in lockdown, doctors granted her brother an exemption to go and say goodbye to his sister while she was being treated in ICU.
Helio lives in Sydney and was able to visit her in person, but Adriana's parents and other family members are still in Brazil and could only see her on video chat.
'We got a chance to get an exemption to see her when she was in ICU in her final moments,' Helio said.
'Doctors said it was a very critical condition so they got us one exemption to go there and see her and say our goodbyes.'
Her best friend Fernanda said the speed at which she deteriorated was the most alarming factor, particularly given Adriana was believed to be in good health before she contracted Covid.
Adriana moved to Australia more than a decade ago to study, earning a masters from Kaplan business school. She was hoping to get permanent residency before her death
Her best friend said the speed in which she deteriorated was the most alarming factor, particularly given Adriana was believed to be in good health before she contracted Covid
The 39-year-old's housemate, who she got the virus from, is believed to have made a full recovery.
Helio said it was a particularly distressing period for their family who were unable to see Adriana while she was dying in hospital.
'It was just so quick everything happened, yeah it's just... it will still be hard to believe and we still slowly processing all this,' he said.
'Me as a brother and all her friends we know how special she was… it's been very difficult.'