(CNN) -- Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa, whose hands and feet were amputated in a bid to save her from a deadly and little-known illness, died early Saturday, two friends of the model told CNN.
Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa died Saturday after undergoing multiple amputations.
"Unfortunately Mari couldn't resist any longer. She passed away at 3 a.m. today," Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil, said in an e-mail to CNN.
Da Costa, 20, had fought a pernicious disease that has ravaged her body and forced doctors to perform the amputations and extract part of her stomach as well as both kidneys.
She had been breathing through a respirator, officials at Dorio Silva Hospital in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo said Friday.
Da Costa was first diagnosed as suffering a urinary tract infection. By the time the infection was detected, it had developed into septicemia.
Doctors decided to amputate first her hands and then her feet after the condition reduced the amount of oxygen being delivered to her limbs.
Just less than one month ago, da Costa was a healthy young woman well on the way to achieving her dream of becoming a world class model.
She placed sixth in the Miss Bikini International competition in China last year and took first place for the "Best in Swimsuit" category. In 2007 and 2008, she came fourth in the contest to become Brazil's entrant for the Miss World pageant.
Simoes told CNN that da Costa woke up from a coma 10 days ago and told him how much she wanted to be alive.
"She told me she was praying to stay alive, that she still had a lot to do on this earth, that she wanted to go on with her plans," he said.
"The whole world, I repeat, the whole world is touched by the case of Mariana," it said.
So Sorrow...
hem..tragic