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Flavia Bueno, a Brazilian fitness influencer, fell into a coma on Jan. 3 after hitting her head in a diving accident off the coast of São PauloThe internet personality, 35, is known by over 150,000 Instagram followers for sharing fitness and wellness adviceFlavia’s brother Felipe told a local news outlet that she has since regained consciousness and expects to be in the hospital for the next 30 to 40 days
Flavia Bueno, a Brazilian fitness influencer, fell into a coma following an injury from a diving incident on Jan. 3.
According to UOL, a Brazilian news site, Bueno was diving in Maresias, off the coast of São Paulo, when she hit her head on a sandbar. The content creator fainted after the incident, the outlet continued, and she was transferred to a local hospital, where doctors found that she had suffered a severe spinal cord injury and a brain injury.
Bueno is known by over 150,000 Instagram followers for sharing fitness and wellness advice. On Jan. 12, just over a week after the incident, the creator’s family shared a statement on her account, informing her followers that she was in a coma in the intensive care unit and is “bravely fighting for her life.”
In an update later that day, Flavia’s brother, Felipe Checchin da Silva Bueno, shared that she had undergone surgery and was “doing well.”
Felipe told UOL that Flavia has since regained consciousness, can communicate “without speaking” to her family, and is expected to remain in the hospital for 30 to 40 days.
“Flávia is a determined woman above all else. She has a huge heart for the lives of others. And she is a very strong woman,” he told the outlet. “Inside, she’s a little girl when she’s with her family, but in her personal and professional life, she’s a very strong, very competent woman. Truly, that’s how I see my sister.”
The family has also opened a GoFundMe to help support the costs of her treatment, which the fundraiser says has already exceeded $200,000, because Flavia did not have health insurance at the time of the incident.
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“We are asking for help to keep Flavia alive and give her a chance at recovery,” reads the fundraiser. “Every donation matters. Every share helps.”