Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 22, 2021 / 15:01 pm
Daniel Neves, a 13-year-old boy who painted pictures of the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary to help to pay for his medical treatment, died May 18 after being hospitalized for almost two weeks with COVID-19.
At eight months Daniel was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, liver fibrosis, and spleen problems, and spent most of his life in the hospital. When he was five, his kidneys stopped functioning and he had to undergo hemodialysis every week. It was during that time that he learned to paint, and the sale of his paintings helped pay for his treatment.
The young boy mainly painted pictures of Catholic saints. On a waiting list to receive a kidney transplant, Daniel also created a picture of Our Lady of the Kidneys, so the Virgin would protect him during the operation and guide the doctors to perform the procedure successfully.
Daniel was born in Guanambi, Brazil, and lived with his mother, Cleide Neves, in an apartment in Salvador. Every three months he was taken to São Paulo for the necessary treatments.