Update as of Aug. 21 at 5 p.m.:
Lucila has developed a trachea infection with a low-grade fever, the result of having a tube in her airway.
This new challenge is not expected to impact Lucila’s recovery, said family friend Laura Lopez.
Meanwhile, Lucila has responded through small movements to some verbal commands and loved ones’ voices, but is still not able to wake up and open her eyes.
A physiotherapist put Lucila in a wheelchair today to see if they could exercise her back and leg muscles.
Doctors still don’t know the extent of Lucila’s brain injuries; however, Lopez said Lucila’s overall condition is improving each day.
“People could take weeks to accomplish what she has already accomplished,” said Lopez.
So far $35,000 has been raised through the online fundraising campaign to help with Lucila’s long-term care.
The next goal is to bring Lucila’s dad here from Brazil, where his family relies on income he makes as a self-employed carpenter. Lucila’s mother, who arrived in North Vancouver days after the accident, is separated from her eight-year-old daughter who is in Brazil as well.
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A talented young Argentinian ballerina seriously injured in a roller-skating accident in North Vancouver last week was on the doorstep of becoming a professional dancer.
Pacific Dance Arts artistic director Yaming Li saw great potential in Lucila Munaretto three years ago when he recruited her from a theatre school in Brazil and offered her a full scholarship to dance in Vancouver.
“She was quite a beautiful dancer,” said Li, adding Munaretto’s equally beautiful personality made it easy for him to work with her.
The classically trained ballerina, 20, was coming off an acclaimed turn as a stepsister in Pacific Dance Arts’ production of Cinderella at the Centennial Theatre in May. Munaretto was also recently short-listed to join the renowned Ballet Jörgen Canada in Toronto, in what could have been the launch of her professional ballet career.
Then on Aug. 13 tragedy struck while Munaretto was roller-skating in Upper Lonsdale near her homestay residence. She didn’t brake for the stop sign at Lonsdale Avenue and East Osborne Road and went into the busy road, where she hit a van travelling southbound.
Unconscious at the scene, Munaretto, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained a serious head injury and several bone fractures. She required immediate surgery to stabilize her spine and was in a coma at Lions Gate Hospital.
Munaretto’s sister, Florencia, and her mother, Alicia Pekala, are keeping vigil at her bedside and praying for positive news.
“It’s very sad because we know what an active, strong girl she is, pursuing her dreams. It’s hard to see her still,” said Alicia through a family friend, Laura Lopez, who is translating for her.
Florencia came from Brazil six months ago to stay with her older sister, Lucila, in North Van, and they had been exploring the area together.
Last Thursday morning Lucila borrowed Florencia’s roller skates, something she had done before without incident. What Lucila may have not been prepared for was the steep road, says her sister.
Florencia is hoping laughter is the best medicine, in the aftermath of the accident, as she has been telling jokes to Lucila to try and communicate with her.
“She gave me a wink,” said Florencia, of an encouraging sign she received from her sister on Monday.
Lucila is also responding to the sound of her mother’s voice. There has been other good news in Lucila’s recovery: she is breathing on her own with the help of oxygen and has stretched her legs straight out during physiotherapy treatment.
However, Lucila’s doctors remain cautiously optimistic and say she still faces a long road to recovery.
The close-knit Pacific Dance Arts school community — a surrogate family of sorts for the international students that train there, many of them in their early 20s — has rallied around Lucila as she recovers.
The school has helped set up an online fundraising campaign, which so far has raised $28,000, to help cover the costs of Lucila’s long-term treatment.
Lucila is here in Canada on a student visa with a work permit and only has basic MSP coverage that will not take care of her rehabilitation costs.
Bringing the rest of Lucila’s family here from Brazil is another financial burden for the family that has never travelled internationally before and therefore doesn’t have passports. The family is originally from Oberá, Argentina, but relocated to Brazil when Lucila was nine years old so she could further develop her ballet skills.
It was an epic effort by many government agencies — including the Brazilian, Argentinian and Canadian embassies, and the North Vancouver RCMP — to bring Lucila’s mother to her daughter’s bedside at Lions Gate Hospital in a matter of days.
Florencia said her family is incredibly grateful for all the support they have received so far, as they hope for a miracle. “It will take a long way to get her back on stage, but I know she will dance again,” said Florencia.
To donate, or for more information about Lucila’s recovery, visit gofundme.com/Lucila.
