Rafael Azevedo, a Brazilian, traveled the world for nearly a decade seeking a cure for a terrible rare condition known as ‘suicide disease,’ which caused him to suffer daily from severe facial and ear-pain.

His case eventually reached the United Nations General Assembly, even leading to a new public policy proposal in Brazil for rare diseases, and then thankfully he found hope and a cure with surgeons at the University of Connecticut’s academic medical center, UConn Health.

It was a long journey for Azevedo to locate a cure and have the successful advanced, complex brain surgery at UConn John Dempsey Hospital on Dec. 1, 2023 to finally bring him relief from the severe facial and ear pain. In fact, it even took him seven years to find a diagnosis for his rare condition, including treatments in Germany and research at the University of São Paulo. Also, obtaining treatment was another major battle as there was one medical team in the world he discovered capable of curing him, Dr. Daniel Roberts and Dr. Ketan Bulsara at UConn Health in Connecticut.

But what gave Azevedo the strength to not give up on his battle for a cure to end his pain, in addition to his faith in God and the support of family and friends he says, was his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot.

During the agonizing nights and desperate days of pain, his focus was on studying Boeing and Airbus manuals, and he vigorously trained on the advanced computer he had set up at home to run flight simulations.

Now, he says thanks to his successful surgery treatment by surgeons at UConn Health, Azevedo is increasingly closer to making his dream of becoming a pilot a reality. Upon learning of his dream, Delta Air Lines provided one of the happiest days of his life. Delta invited Azevedo to their headquarters in Atlanta. The visit was a courtesy to encourage him to aim even higher after facing so many challenges.

Azevedo visited Delta’s largest technical operations center in North America and spoke with Delta employees who share his same passion for aviation. He met experienced pilots who lead the training of other pilots and was able to discuss his in-depth studies of aviation.

He then had the exciting opportunity to then impressively and skillfully operate flight simulators of the B737 and A320 airplanes.

His shared motto: “The worst pain in the world cannot compare to the greatest strength: love.”

And from his smile during flight simulation training at Delta Air Lines, you can see and feel his love of flying.

Azevedo says his dream of flying saved his life and he hopes his dream takes him even higher.

“Today I am being reborn. It’s a miracle to be here today,” he shared after the real Delta flight simulation training experience. “It’s God giving me a second chance. I want to thank everyone for welcoming me with so much love here at Delta. Dr. Daniel Roberts and Dr. Ketan Bulsara at UConn Health were always very confident that my surgery was a success. They were very excited when I told them I would be coming to Delta Air Lines. What I try to convey to people is to value life. Because everything passes, but love does not.”

“To everyone who prayed and believed in me, the doctors and UConn Health, thank you,” Azevedo concludes.

World Pilots’ Day is celebrated every April 26.