This time the recovery really seems to be constant, because we all expect a recovery from a great champion like him. And it's really amazing what's happening to Alex Zanardi. After the first movements a few weeks ago, he has now started talking again. Thanks to the medical team that is following him. But undoubtedly thanks to the great strength of this great athlete who continues to amaze. A sign that hope is not yet lost.
The hope of an improvement of the athlete
To reveal the timid signs of this recovery is Federica Alemanno, neuropsychologist at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. The sample is hospitalized in the facility after the serious accident that had seen him involved last June. Rehabilitation had begun in Milan. And as revealed by Corriere della Sera recently he had started to follow those who spoke to him with his eyes and to move an arm. "It was a great emotion when he started communicating, no one believed it - he told Corriere Alemanno-. He was there! And he communicated with his family ". The doctor held the sample's hand when he was awakening.
The drama of Alefor Zanardi
As Alex will remember Zanardi had two serious accidents. The first in 2001 was a car accident in Germany, after which his legs were amputated. Then the resumption and the beginning of an important path also of testimony. And the beginning of the new commitment in the car and on the handbike, with which he had then won four golds and two silvers at the Paralympics. But last June, a new terrible accident. The race to the hospital, first in Siena, then at San Raffaele. And finally in Padua. And now the resumption: in fact, a short time ago the athlete had resumed communicating with the family, with some gestures, raising his thumb, shaking hands and looking at his wife with his eyes.
The doctor of "awakenings"
Doctor Alemanno follows the steps of the recovery of the sample. The woman is 36 years old and is in charge of the Neuropsychology Service and professor at the Faculty of Psychology at the Vita e Salute University. An important curriculum such as a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience and a postdoc in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California San Diego (Ucsd). He then has experience in the so-called "awake surgery". It is a technique aimed at guaranteeing the patient the best possible quality of life after surgery. The technique is performed in the operating room through the use of a scalpel made of radiation. If we intervene on a sedated patient, the visual image is stimulated. "The target - clarified the doctor - it is not just the patient's survival, but that of safeguarding cognitive functions as much as possible and ensuring the best possible quality of life ".
The hope is therefore that treatment and rehabilitation can continue to bring improvements. Zanardi is facing this battle once again with determination. An example for many.
