Erica Vicente, 17-year-old girl found alive after being missing for more than 20 hours at sea, "she is stable" and, "if all goes well", she may be discharged from Hospital de Faro in “24 or 48 hours”.
The update on the state of health of this young woman, who disappeared on Saturday, the 15th, after being pushed by the wind on a paddle board, at Coelho beach, in Monte Gordo, was made on the morning of Monday, April 17th.
Speaking to journalists, Horácio Guerreiro, clinical director of the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA), said that the young woman «is stable», despite being «somewhat prostrate, which is normal after having been without food for so long, exposed to the sun and stress».
After spending a night on the high seas, the 17-year-old girl was found yesterday, the 16th, 25 miles (about 46 kilometers) south of Vila Real de Santo António by a merchant ship that was sailing to Tangier, Morocco.
The young woman was found in a state of severe hypothermia, still on top of the board she had disappeared on, ending up being transported by helicopter to the hospital in Faro, after the cargo ship gave the alert.
According to Horácio Guerreiro, the young woman is «a little sleepy and dehydrated» and, despite «not having serious injuries», she has «some pain in the muscles and skin».
At this stage, according to the clinical director, the most sensitive thing is to see «if the kidney function is maintained» and, if, «with hydration, there are problems in the brain».
“But we are not predicting that. The teams are trained to deal with this type of situation », she added.
Érica Vicente is admitted to the Pediatrics service and accompanied by her mother. In psychological terms, the young woman is "very calm".
«Of course, she is not very communicative at this stage, which is natural, but she is a resistant and a very calm girl», said Horácio Guerreiro.
The prospects for recovery are therefore “optimistic”, in a case that, in the words of the clinical director of CHUA, “surprises us all”.
“Being at sea for so long, under conditions of maximum stress… You need a survival instinct and self-control not to panic – you are a heroine without a doubt”, he concluded.
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