Former first lady of Brazil Michelle Bolsonaro told reporters on Wednesday that she saw her husband Jair Bolsonaro “asking God to take him, because he couldn’t take the pain anymore” during a recent medical examination following a fall that left him with a head injury.
Jair Bolsonaro, 70, suffered a fall and hit his head this week while inside his prison cell at the Regional Superintendency of the Federal Police in Brasília where he is serving a 27 year and 3 month prison sentence on “crimes against democracy” charges.
The accident occurred days after the former president underwent four different surgical procedures during the final days of 2025 to address complications directly stemming from the failed 2018 assassination attempt, which left Bolsonaro facing recurring and complex health complications and requiring several surgeries over the past years. Bolsonaro was discharged from the DF Star Hospital in Brasília on January 1, 2026.
Initially, Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes rejected a request seeking authorization for Bolsonaro to briefly return to the hospital so that his medical team could evaluate his condition following the fall. De Moraes eventually changed his mind and allowed the hospital visit following continued pressure from the former president’s lawyers, granting Bolsonaro the ability to take a CT scan and MRI of his skull, as well as an electroencephalogram. Bolsonaro returned to his prison cell on Wednesday.
During his brief stay at the hospital, Bolsonaro’s medical team explained to reporters that they believe the accident occurred when Bolsonaro got up from his bed and tried to walk. Doctors confirmed that he suffered a mild head trauma, but with no indications that would require any more complex interventions.
“Imaging tests showed slight densification of soft tissue in the frontal and right temporal regions, resulting from the trauma, with no need for therapeutic intervention. He should continue clinical care as defined by the attending medical team,” Bolsonaro’s chief medical officer, Dr. Cláudio Birolini, reportedly explained through a statement.
Brazilian physician Brasil Caiado explained to reporters that Bolsonaro’s fall may have been caused by disorientation resulting from the interaction between the different medications that he has to take.
“There is an initial suspicion, which we had already imagined, that it may be the interaction of medications. The president uses several medications to treat his hiccups. If these episodes are recurrent, they put the president at greater risk,” Caiado explained.
During his stay at the hospital, Michelle Bolsonaro told reporters that it was not possible to determine the exact time of the accident, as Jair Bolsonaro was “confused and had difficulty communicating” when she visited him — symptoms that the outlet Poder 360 reported were aggravated due to the use of medications that made Bolsonaro drowsy.
Speaking to reporters, the former first lady asserted that her husband did not remember whether the fall occurred during the early hours of the morning or at night. She pointed out to reporters that there is a step between the bedroom and the bathroom in the prison cell, which may have contributed to the accident.
“I saw him asking God to take him, because he couldn’t take the pain anymore,” she told reporters outside the hospital while Jair Bolsonaro underwent medical testing on Wednesday.
According to the former first lady, Jair Bolsonaro has been living with constant pain since the initial 2018 emergency surgery following the failed assassination attempt and has “already switched to survival mode,” which, she detailed, has seen her husband learn “how to deal with the pain in order to continue living.”
Michelle Bolsonaro stressed to reporters outside the hospital that the former President “avoids asking for help and does not like to bother people,” which, she reasoned, may have contributed to a delay in him getting help after the fall. According to the former first lady, Bolsonaro’s cell is usually opened at 08:00 a.m. (local time) so he can receive the first medication of the day, but he only received care about 40 minutes later.
“At home, I’m always by his side. When he gets up, I’m already by his side because I’m afraid he’ll fall,” she said, and pointed out that Bolsonaro has undergone nine different surgeries since 2018, in addition to his existing comorbidities and episodes of dizziness.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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