After two months in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Salvador Municipal Hospital (HMS), 15-year-old Geovana Ramos can finally enjoy the sunset again, even though she is still undergoing treatment. The experiment was only possible thanks to the “Healing Towers”. The action is part of the project of the health unit, which takes care of patients in palliative care or in long hospitalization to fulfill their wishes.

In May, the young woman was taken by the hospital’s multidisciplinary team to watch the sunset from the health center’s heliport. Accompanied by her mother, Geovana enjoyed the tour and touched everyone who was there.

“It was an incredible experience for my daughter. We went through such a struggle to find out about her diagnosis, that when we arrived at the helipad it was just a bustle. Although for a short time it was very positive for her. . A week later, Geovana left intensive care and went to the ward,” said Vanderleia dos Santos Ramos, 36, the patient’s mother.

Geovana was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, a rare and incurable disease in which the antibodies themselves attack the patient’s body and brain. Until the confirmation of the condition, the young woman suffered from several convulsions, loss of memory, ability to speak and to eat. The scars he still carries. From the experience in the action “Healing walks”, there were still two months of treatment left, until the day of the release, last Tuesday (05).

“The help we received from the hospital has been very important for this day ahead. My daughter went there between life and death, but Dr. José Mário and his team did not rest for a minute. After numerous tests without results, the Geovana samples were sent to Fiocruz. Along with that, touring means care beyond technique,” ​​says Vanderleia.

According to the medical manager of HMS, José Mário Meira Teles, the “Passeios que Curam” action is inspired by the “Three Wishes Project”, created in 2013, in the city of Hamilton, Canada, by Canadian doctor Deborah Cook. The initiative is a means of ensuring a more humanized follow-up of patients.

For the patient, it is the opportunity he has to leave this closed environment of the ICU and to feel nature, to see the sky and the sunset. It is something that makes a difference in the treatment, not only for the person treated, but also for the team. And the family itself thanks you,” said the medical manager.

Yesterday (06), it was the turn of Sônia Sousa, 74, to also live this experience. She was hospitalized for an operation for stomach cancer. The heliport was the first trip he made after the operation. Upon reaching the platform, his eyes lit up with a panoramic view of part of the city. Even lying on a stretcher, she kept her neck elevated so as not to miss an inch of the landscape. “How beautiful,” was the only thing Sonia managed to say.

In addition to feeling the wind and the rays of the sunset on his face, his eyes could appreciate the waters of a lake, in the center of a small closed forest. Further down, it was possible to see a piece of the sea. Due to the amount of clouds in the sky, the sunset did not appear, but the rest of the landscape and Sonia’s happiness, being outside , delighted the team that accompanied her to the place.

“Everyone who sees this feels how important it is to do it and does it with love. I find it unusual in Brazil. These things are touching. We are so focused on curing the disease, providing quality care, that we don’t realize that these are actions that can set us apart,” emphasizes José Mário.

At least 15 patients have already been treated by the hospital’s humanitarian actions in the last two months when the number started to be recorded. In addition to the “Healing Walks”, the hospital also offers the “Three Wishes”, to respond to the last wishes of terminally ill patients, already in place and offered for a year.

Another initiative is the so-called “Day of Desire”, promoted by the hospital’s nutrition service team, which prepares a special dish, chosen by each patient, to satisfy the desire to eat their favorite dish.

*With the advice of the deputy reporting manager Monique Lôbo