Following the sad news, tributes are pouring in on social media.
One fan pens: “So heartbreaking. My heart goes out to her family. May they find comfort in the love and support.”
Another adds: This is heartbreaking and devastating. 11 years old is far too young. RIP.”
“She’s so young to go through all that,” a third says. “She’s such a beautiful young lady. RIP.”
“I pray this young lady is at peace after a horrible tragedy,” a fourth person writes.
Millena Brandão, a cherished Brazilian child actress and model known for her roles in the soap opera The Childhood of Romeo and Juliet and the Netflix series Sintonia, has sadly passed away.
Her mother shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram, writing:
“The memories we shared will forever remain in my heart. I’ll never forget your joy—it lit up every room you entered. My girl, I already miss your presence deeply, and I know the days ahead will feel even emptier without you. You were the light in our lives, and I believe you’ll keep shining down on us from above.”
In the days leading up to her passing, Brandão had been suffering from persistent headaches, leg pain, drowsiness, a lack of appetite, and episodes of fainting, beginning on April 24. Her family sought medical help at an urgent care center and two hospitals in São Paulo, where doctors initially suspected she was battling dengue fever.
arms. Then, she opened her eyes and regained consciousness.” rewrite
ChatGPT said:
The young star’s mother, Thays, told Brazilian news outlet G1 that doctors initially performed no tests and simply advised the family to take her home and administer dipyrone.
Brandão first experienced severe leg pain on April 26 while attending a modeling event and was taken to Pedreira General Hospital. Despite her discomfort, medical tests showed no abnormalities.
Two days later, on April 28, the family planned to attend mass at a local church, but they had to turn back when Brandão began suffering from headaches, loss of appetite, and drowsiness.
After returning home, Brandão fainted in the bathroom. Her parents rushed her to the Maria Antonieta Urgent Care Facility.
“She arrived unconscious in my husband’s arms,” Thays recalled. “Then she opened her eyes and briefly regained consciousness.”
The health centre ran tests on the young actress, which were negative for Covid-19, H1N1, and dengue fever. But they did show that she had a urinary tract infection, and she was placed on medication.
Brandão was then taken to Granjaú General Hospital on the morning of April 29 and was intubated after she had her first cardiac arrest.
Thays recalled: “Her lip turned purple. Then they resuscitated her and intubated her. From that day on, she never woke up again.”
Her mom believes the hospital was not equipped enough to look after Brandão, claiming a neurologist wasn’t on site.
“They only did a CT scan, and the doctors said they saw a 5-centimeter mass in her brain, but they don’t know if this mass was a tumor, a cyst, an edema, a clot … because they couldn’t open her head to see,” Thays claimed.
Brandão’s mom said: “She got worse, with two to three cardiac arrests per day. She had 13 arrests in total. She had never had that before.
“There was one day when she had seven respiratory arrests. Sometimes they gave her massages and other times they gave her shocks [with a device called a defibrillator].”
Brandão’s official cause of death is still unknown.
The young actress is survived by her mom Thays, her father, and her two-year-old sister.
