I spent 30 days in a coma fighting for me life  - and what happened next changed everything

An Illinois female spent 30 days successful a medically induced coma fighting for her life, but everything changed nan infinitesimal she woke up.

Victoria Cupay was diagnosed pinch lupus, but successful 2019 she reacted to a medicine that caused her tegument to shed and organs to deteriorate.

She spent nan period hooked up to tubes, a breathing instrumentality and family and friends praying she would survive.

Doctors yet began to reduce nan medicine that put her into a coma and connected August 19, Cupay opened her eyes spot to her fellow Nick Baldo opinionated astatine her bedside pinch a gem ringing and a mobility to ask.

'He really asked my mom earlier he proposed, because that was 1 of my requests measurement earlier I sewage sick. He respected that wish,' Cupay told DailyMail.com.

'He decided to do it past because I had a batch of adjacent calls to death. And he said that if I don't make it, I will astatine slightest person a bully memory.'

The mates joined connected August 19, 2022, precisely 3 years aft nan connection to let Cupay to retrieve and nan COVID pandemic to subside.

They besides welcomed a babe boy this year, Peter, which Cupay antecedently believed would ne'er happen.

'Lupus patients are prone to miscarriages, and truthful it was a high-risk pregnancy. We wanted him for nan longest time,' she said.

'He loves playing pinch books, and he loves steak and asparagus. He's conscionable a joyousness successful life.'

Cupay, who is now property 28, was a nursing student successful 2016 erstwhile she was hospitalized for a fever and fixed nan Lupus diagnosis.

The information happens erstwhile nan body's immune strategy mistakes its tissues and organs arsenic foreign, making proteins called autoantibodies that onslaught them.

According to nan Mayo Clinic, nan illness causes inflammation, affecting joints, skin, kidneys, humor cells, brain, bosom and lungs.

It's still chartless what causes lupus but sunlight, stress, smoking, definite medicines, and viruses whitethorn trigger symptoms successful group who are astir apt to get lupus owed to their genes.

Hormones specified arsenic estrogen. Lupus is much communal successful women during their childbearing years erstwhile estrogen levels are highest.

There is nary cure for nan illness but treatments tin thief trim symptoms.

'I went from taking nary medications to taking much medications than my grandmother. It was specified a large change, they told maine that it's incurable,' Cupay said.

'No 1 successful my family has it, truthful I didn't really cognize what my life would look like.'

She began surviving what she describes arsenic a 'new normal', though her medicine had broadside effects including weight gain.

'There were broadside comments specified as, 'Oh, are you Victoria? You gained truthful overmuch weight. I tin hardly admit you. You look pregnant,' said Cupay.

But successful 2019, things took a move for nan worse erstwhile she was diagnosed pinch Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Both are life-threatening tegument disorders caused by an immune strategy overreaction to a trigger, specified arsenic medication, resulting successful blisters, peeling and rashes.

'My mom brought maine to nan emergency room and everything conscionable went downhill,' Cupay explained.

'I was put successful an ICU Burn Unit. I'm not technically a pain victim, but what happened to maine was I was burning wrong retired from wrong out.

'What was happening connected my skin, it was sloughing off. That was besides happening successful my intestines and different organs.'

At nan time, Baldo was surviving successful San Francisco and nan infirmary wherever Cupay stayed was extracurricular of Chicago.

Cupay, calved and raised successful nan Philippine state of Bohol, immigrated to Beach Park successful 2011, but 7 years later she was visiting California wherever she met Baldo astatine a nightclub.

She asked him to creation and he asked for her telephone number.

The 2 met successful April 2018 astatine a nightclub successful nan California City while she was visiting.

Cupay asked Baldo to creation and he past asked for her telephone number.

As destiny had it, he was from a suburb of Chicago and planned connected visiting 2 weeks later.

The 2 met again aft Baldo arrived successful Illinois and took turns visiting each other.

But Baldo booked a one-way summons erstwhile Cupay was admitted to nan hospital.

'He knew it was going to beryllium a long, agelong journey,' she said.

From June 2019 to February 2020, Cupay was successful and retired of 8 different infirmary accommodation and I had to study really to walk, talk, and eat again done beingness and occupational therapy.

She spent 240 days successful nan infirmary - pinch issues including vomiting each time because her intestines were affected and having a tracheotomy grounded to heal owed to malnourishment.

Baldo officially moved backmost to Illinois during nan pandemic.

'Throughout each of that, Nick was beside me. We were together during nan pandemic, and that was a very important infinitesimal successful my recovery,' Cupay.

And past year, Cupay graduated from nan University of Arizona pinch a bachelor's grade successful nationalist health.

'It's been a agelong journey, but I decidedly had a batch of down moments, moments wherever I wanted to springiness up, yeah,' she said.

'I would not person made it without my support system, I would opportunity that I wouldn't person survived this without them.' 

She shared her communicative connected TikTok, becoming an instant prima sparked by a connection video and a wedding video successful 2022. 

'I did not expect it to spell viral, and it conscionable snowballed from there,' said Cupay.

'People started asking astir our emotion story, and erstwhile it went viral, I took that opportunity to raise much consciousness astir lupus and what really happened to me

'I thought possibly this is nan cleanable clip for maine to really get superior astir raising much awareness.