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Paulo Henrique Machado, affectionately known as Paulinho, died on Wednesday (18) after living for 51 years at the Hospital das Clínicas, in São Paulo. The death occurred due to the worsening of the respiratory problems that he had. Her life in the hospital since she was a year and a half after contracting polio did not prevent her from achieving the flights and dreams she craved.
“It is very worth living” was the main slogan used by Paulinho when starting the videos he made on social networks. With an immense love for life, the patient studied, learned to read and write, took several courses in the area of software and computing, areas that he was completely passionate about, all within the hospital.
It was this passion for technology, games, cinema and geek culture that prompted the patient to transform his experiences into a series of cartoons aimed at children. “The Adventures of Léca and her Friends” tells the story of seven children with physical disabilities and still reminds Paulo’s friends who did not resist the disease.
The plot’s tribute was also due to Léca, Eliana Zagui, Paulo’s bed neighbor and faithful companion of the patient during her years of hospitalization. Eliana is the author of the book “Lung of steel: a life in the largest hospital in Brazil” (Belaletra Editora), which also served as inspiration for the creation of the cartoon.
“I thought of an animation with disabled people. But I didn’t know if it would interest people. It was then, watching the animations with disabled characters made by a British studio that I like [Aardman Animations, especializado em animações stop-motion], who did the ‘Fuga das Galinhas’, which I thought was on the right track ”, the patient told the Folha de S.Paulo website at the time.
In 2013, to make the dream of putting the animation project on the air, it made a collective financing with the goal of R $ 120 thousand and raised more than R $ 148 thousand with the support of almost two thousand people.
CCXP and events
Anyone who has visited CCXP (Comic Con Experience) may already have met Paulo on a stretcher in the middle of the event, often dressed as a cosplay of some well-known character from the geek world. The patient got to meet personal figures from the culture he admired so much, such as Hideo Kojima, creator of the ‘Metal Gear’ franchise, and Will Smith, actor of “Crazy in the Piece”. In fact, this admiration for the universe of cinema, comics and games was very visible in Paulinho’s hospital room, which was completely decorated with objects that represent this world.
Paulinho also visited the Brasil Game Show event, an annual video game fair, in 2015, and gave an interview to Twitter dressed as a character from the “Star Wars” franchise. “I can’t be where I want to be, it’s complicated. But by video game, no. I discovered that I can be in the world, walk in that world and the more open that world is, the more fun it is for me,” he said.
In 2018, Paulo received an invitation to participate for the second time in the São Paulo International Book Biennial. In a live broadcast on his YouTube channel, he said that he loved going to the event and even revealed that he had already written a book, but that no publisher had taken an interest in it up to that point. The patient said that he had a copy kept and who knows, one day he might publish this book if any publisher was interested.
World Cup and Soccer
But Paul’s heart was too big to love some things. Thus, soccer was also on the list of passions of the patient. In 2018, Paulo spoke with UOL Esporte to discuss soccer during a World Cup match.
During that year’s game, Brazil x Belgium, there was elimination, but it was not even close to Paulinho’s greatest suffering with the national team. He said that in the 1982 World Cup he ended up feeling ill and had to be medicated after the Brazilian defeat. He even went without food and had to receive serum from the doctors.
The passion for soccer began with a doctor, São Paulo, who treated Paulinho in hospital as a child. “Dr. Giovani, from São Paulo, was like a father to me. He gave me the first São Paulo jersey. But I still didn’t understand what football was. Until there was the 78 Cup in Argentina, I saw people cheering, shouting” .
The dream of meeting the heart team came true in 2013, when Paulo, together with the artificial respiration device that kept him alive, went to see a São Paulo game in Morumbi.
“Live is something totally different. Hear thousands of voices screaming. When the crowd celebrated a goal, I thought ‘what is this madness’? ”He said.
Sharing life
Whether on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook or any other social network, Paulo liked to share his happiness for life, always accompanied by his slogan. On Facebook, 9 days ago, he shared an exciting text about life. And that was one more thing he was happy to do: speak with gratitude about everything around him.
“Thank you very much for all the love and affection that you have all given me, thank you for allowing me to be part of each one of you and, above all, thank you for being part of my life. Even before this punishment that the world is experiencing, you showed that we are beautiful flowers of an immense garden of life and therefore, the importance of all of them is in the tangles of their roots, fed by many lives, very well lived, being united , each one is part of a unique universe full of everything that makes us what we really are, beautiful and true human beings “.
He also shared with followers and admirers his gratitude for life and the opportunities he had, always in a good mood. “I have a very lived life. I would not change anything that I live for today and I need to thank so many people who understand my situation and are there to help me,” he said in a video about CCXP 2019, thanking God in the first place.
Paulo’s wake will be today, at 1 pm, at the Horto da Paz Cemetery and Crematorium.
* With information from Daniel Lisboa, for UOL Esporte, in 2018.
