A woman who was fighting for her life in a coma for 30 days experienced an incredible moment shortly after waking up.
Victoria Cupay, from Illinois, US, was diagnosed with lupus and had a reaction to some medication she was given in 2019.
According to the NHS, lupus is an incurable, long-term health condition that causes joint pain, skin rashes and tiredness.
Severe cases of inflammation can be life-threatening, causing severe damage to the heart, lungs, brain or kidneys.
Victoria Cupay, from Illinois, spent 30 days in a medically induced coma in 2019 (TikTok/@justViktoria03)
For Victoria, her skin and organs began to deteriorate after the medication put her in a coma on 19 August, 2019, reports the Daily Mail.
“I went from taking no medications to taking more medications than my grandmother. It was such a big change, they told me that it’s incurable,” she told the outlet.
“No one in my family has it, so I didn’t really know what my life would look like.”
She was diagnosed with life-threatening skin disorders Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, caused by the medication.
She woke up to the best news (TikTok/@justViktoria03)
Opening up about the day she was put in a coma, Victoria explained: “My mum brought me to the emergency room and everything just went downhill.
“I was put in an ICU Burn Unit. I’m not technically a burn victim, but what happened to me was I was burning inside out from inside out.
“What was happening on my skin, it was sloughing off. That was also happening in my intestines and other organs.”
Thankfully though, 30 days later she woke up from her coma to the best news.
Her boyfriend, Nick Baldo, was bedside with a diamond ring waiting for her.
“He actually asked my mum before he proposed, because that was one of my requests way before I got sick. He respected that wish,” Victoria recalled.
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“He decided to do it then because I had a lot of close calls to death. And he said that if I don’t make it, I will at least have a good memory.”
The couple waited it out for three years to get married on 19 August, 2022.
This was so that Victoria could recover and let the Covid-19 pandemic pass.
After welcoming a baby boy this year, Victoria said she never thought it would be possible.
“Lupus patients are prone to miscarriages, and so it was a high-risk pregnancy. We wanted him for the longest time,” she added.
“He loves playing with books, and he loves steak and asparagus. He’s just a joy in life.”
Victoria now uses her social media channels to raise awareness about the condition and to share her inspiring story with others.