The 23-year-old Brazilian snowboarder, Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, had been in Aspen, Colorado, for three months on an exchange program. One evening in February 2024, she opened a can of spoiled soup for a quick meal and ate just a spoonful. It tasted fine. But within hours, her body began shutting down from what would later be identified as botulism, one of the most lethal toxins known.
“I felt very tired, dizzy, and had double vision. I slept the entire day,” Claudia told Brazilian media outlet UoL. “I started feeling shortness of breath during the night.”
What happened next was worse than the physical symptoms. Claudia remained fully conscious. She could think clearly and hear everything around her, but she couldn’t move her body. “I couldn’t wait for it to end. I was aware of everything happening around me, but I couldn’t communicate,” she said.
A Diagnosis That Took Too Long
Claudia was rushed to Aspen Valley Hospital. Doctors ran tests, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Her condition worsened with each passing hour. The symptoms didn’t match anything familiar.
The paralysis spread from her face down through her body. Her mouth went dry, and she couldn’t swallow. Her neck weakened first. Then her arms stopped working. Her legs went next. She became quadriplegic. She couldn’t breathe on her own anymore and was put on a ventilator.
Doctors airlifted her to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, but even there, it took 15 days to diagnose her.
Her sister explained that the medical team struggled because none of them had treated this illness before. Botulism is so rare that many doctors never see a case during their entire careers. The symptoms mimic strokes, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and myasthenia gravis. Misdiagnosis happens often.
What is Botulism?
The bacterium responsible is called Clostridium botulinum. Its spores are found almost everywhere in nature—lurking in soil, dust, river sediment, and even seawater. Most of the time, these spores remain dormant and harmless, posing no threat to humans or animals. But under the right conditions, they awaken—and that’s when the danger begins.
Clostridium botulinum thrives in environments with little or no oxygen. Sealed containers, such as improperly canned foods, provide the perfect breeding ground. When the spores find their way into food that hasn’t been heated to high enough temperatures during preservation, they germinate. As the bacteria grow and multiply, they release botulinum toxin—an extremely potent neurotoxin and one of the deadliest substances known to science. Even minuscule amounts can cause severe illness or death.
The onset of symptoms typically occurs between 12 to 36 hours after ingestion, though the window can range from as early as 4 hours to as late as 8 days. Initial signs include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dizziness, followed by progressive neurological symptoms like blurred vision, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, and muscle weakness. If left untreated, these symptoms can escalate rapidly into full-body paralysis.
It takes just two nanograms of botulinum toxin per kilogram of body weight to be fatal—a dose so small it can’t be seen with the naked eye. The toxin works by attacking the nervous system, blocking the communication between nerves and muscles. Under normal conditions, the brain sends signals through nerves that direct every movement—telling your lungs to inhale, your eyelids to blink, your hands to grip. Botulinum toxin intercepts these messages, preventing them from ever reaching their destination. The result is a progressive paralysis that can stop a person’s breathing, heartbeat, and other essential bodily functions.
According to the World Health Organization, foodborne botulism kills between 5 to 10% of patients even with access to modern medical treatment. In cases where no treatment is available or intervention is delayed, the fatality rate climbs much higher—sometimes exceeding 60%.
Paralysis from botulism usually starts in the face and descends through the body, eventually reaching the lungs. The only way to stop the spread is with antitoxin, which binds to the circulating toxin and prevents it from damaging more nerves. But the clock is critical—antitoxin cannot reverse the damage already done. Claudia lost 15 days while doctors searched for answers. Even a short delay can mean the difference between full recovery and lifelong complications. She needed antitoxin immediately. But no one could administer it until they understood what they were dealing with.
Read More: Top 9 Foods That Commonly Cause Food Poisoning
When Medical Bills Become a Second Crisis
She had travel insurance, but it ran out early in her treatment. Medical care in Colorado was expensive, and the bills piled up fast. Hospitalization ran $10,000 a day, adding five figures every 24 hours. Charges reached $500,000 in 60 days. The total exceeded $2 million by the time her treatment ended.
Her sister, Luísa Albuquerque Celada, shared updates online. Claudia needed ongoing care, but staying in the United States meant financial collapse. The family started looking at options. Transferring her to Brazil made sense. Costs there were far lower, and she could recover near family.
“To stop the bill from rising, we thought about arranging an air ambulance,” Luísa said. “Recovery near family is faster, and returning to Brazil was still cheaper.”
The family launched a fundraiser to cover the $200,000 flight. Doctors refused to authorize travel at first. A neurologist changed course and approved it on April 15.
Swedish Medical Center offered to cover the transport. The Aspen Health Secretariat told the family that Claudia might qualify for government assistance with remaining costs. In May, after 70 days in the United States, Claudia arrived at an ICU in São Paulo. The family still carried debt that would take years to repay.
Small Victories, Long Recovery
By September 2024, roughly seven months after falling ill, Claudia had made small gains. She could breathe for an hour with help from a respirator and write her name, according to Colombia One. Her doctors remained optimistic, though no public updates have emerged since then.
Recovery takes time because botulism destroys the pathways between the brain and muscles. The World Health Organization notes that severe cases may require mechanical ventilation for weeks or months. Her nerves are slowly repairing themselves, and every muscle has to remember how to move again.
Claudia went from snowboarding in the Colorado mountains to lying motionless in a hospital bed. Now, writing her name matters. Breathing for an hour with less machine support matters. Each small victory shows her body is clawing its way back.
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