Brazilian journalist Elaine da Silva and her baby died on Tuesday following a battle with pneumonia. The 38-year-old journalist was 23 weeks pregnant and admitted to a hospital in Sao Paulo on Monday morning due to respiratory problems, as reported by her employer, the Catholic television network Cançao Nova.
She is survived by her husband, Fernando Carvalho, and their one-year-old son, Leo.
Gone too Soon
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“She always had a smile to offer. She loved life, her family, Our Lady of Aparecida, nature, and animals,” shared network colleague Reinaldo César with online news magazine Revista Quem.
“She was passionate about journalism. She always brought a look of hope.”
Da Silva’s death comes three years after she suffered a miscarriage at just five weeks into a previous pregnancy.
Expecting the arrival of their first child, a boy, Da Silva and her husband faced a tragic situation when she was urgently taken to the hospital after she started bleeding and her water broke, as shared by Canção Nova cameraman Ederaldo Paulini with the magazine.
Da Silva underwent an emergency cesarean section, but unfortunately, the child did not survive.
“They didn’t know the sex, she had to see the baby, she saw that it was a boy and they named him Theo,” Paulini said. “At the time, she was very shaken and cried in secret.”
End of Dreams, End of Life
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The couple had planned to name their second son Rafael. Da Silva dedicated 15 years to her career at Canção Nova and served as the anchor for the network’s evening news program, Canção Nova Notícias.
Beginning as an intern in 2008, Da Silva’s journey with Canção Nova culminated in her winning the Canção Nova Journalism Award for the best report in 2019.
“We are all very sad this morning. We have just received the news of the death of our beloved Elaine,” Canção Nova news presenter Paula Guimarães said. “(She) became spectacular in what she did.”
Besides, Da Silva had won several other awards for journalism across the country.
Her family has requested for privacy during this time of grief.
Víctor Freitas, a reporter for Rede Século 21 television, expressed sorrow over the unexpected passing of da Silva.
“One of the best friends journalism gave me,” a grief-stricken Freitas wrote in an Instagram post. “She encouraged my work from our first contact. Always kind and cheerful. May God welcome you with open arms and comfort your family.”
