Mina Benedetti has two children, a life marked by pathologies: the special “care” of art and volunteering.
“Sometimes there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway ». The phrase by the American author Emory Austin seems to be tailor-made for Mina Benedetti from Vertova. The music of her life is not always cheerful but she still walks through it at a dance pace, with a smile in her eyes, thinking about what good can still happen.
He has been living with Crohn’s disease for many years, he defeated breast cancer, he overcame Covid-19 during the “first wave”, when no one had yet understood what we were dealing with. As has happened to many in the Seriana Valley, he paid a heavy toll on the pandemic: he lost his father. Her path, however, has made her stronger and has not exacerbated her. She continues to look at the world as if she wanted to embrace it, and willingly makes herself available to other sick people like her.
She worked for many years in a sewing factory, then she completely changed her path, dedicating herself as a socio-health worker to psychiatry patients of the Cardinal Giorgio Gusmini Foundation in Vertova. He has been retired for three and a half years: «This job has given me so much, I struggled to leave it. It taught me tolerance, it helped me to practice listening, empathy and understanding, to observe and get to know people to become aware of the situations they face ».
Mina Benedetti (left) with her mother
Grandparents and children playing
We sat chatting on a bench in the park of the old convent of Vertova, which now houses an art gallery and the headquarters of some associations. Around us there are grandparents and children playing and we hear their voices. The dark period of the pandemic seems far away: «I still can’t come to terms with what happened, I try not to think about it. I lost my father within three days, he died on March 10th. Soon after I got a fever, one Friday night I realized that I could not breathe, so my husband called the Red Cross and they hospitalized me in Alzano Lombardo. I was not intubated, but I was away from home for 33 days. At first I was hospitalized in the ward but when my conditions improved they transferred me in solitary confinement to a Covid-hotel. I suffered a little from the transition from continuous assistance, the schedules marked by the therapies, with the continuous visits of the nurses, dressed as divers, to the long empty days of the residence structure.
We found ourselves with a small group of other patients – always at a distance, of course, but in the same environment – for half an hour a day, while they were arranging the rooms. It was a pleasant break, all in all, in which we could exchange a few words. For the rest it was not easy, I feared in several moments of falling into depression, I was always alone with my thoughts. Physical suffering also makes the soul very vulnerable, an aspect that is not always adequately taken into account. When I returned home, I remained for another 15 days in convalescence, maintaining isolation voluntarily, for greater safety, although obviously I was already negative. It would take a statue in every city to pay homage to all the people who have mobilized to face the emergency ». Then Mina found the strength to react. It took more time, over two months, to fully recover and return to his usual life also to take care of his mother: “He had already given some signs of absence, lack of memory, but after what happened it was worsened a lot, now she needs assistance.
“I consider myself lucky, because when I got sick I had temporarily suspended treatment for Crohn’s disease, and it was lucky, because there could have been problems in the treatment for Covid”.
Shortly after the wedding
She discovered the disease shortly after marriage, before the age of thirty: “For a year I suffered from severe intestinal problems, which kept getting worse. I dropped in weight, they hospitalized me for a month in hospital undergoing a thousand tests, and in the end the diagnosis arrived, welcomed almost with relief after so many uncertainties and fears. I had never heard of Crohn’s disease, I had to go to study. I was happy when they introduced me to a person from the area who had the same disease, so that I could compare myself and find answers to the many questions I had in my heart. Also for this reason I was particularly happy to meet Enrica Previtali, head of Amici also at national level, the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Association (www.amiciitalia.eu) ».
Mina has been able to count on her adaptability and her innate optimism, qualities that she has also made available to other people like her. She enrolled in “Amici”, attended its activities for a while and then began to volunteer at the reception and first contact desk. «For me it was very important to meet other people with diseases similar to mine, to be able to compare myself with them. This is also why I gladly agreed to make a couple of afternoons a week available. I loved listening to people ». He prepared to welcome them with attention, also taking great care of his appearance: «I dressed well, I went to the hairdresser before each reception shift. I wanted them to immediately understand the importance of reacting positively. Strong direct testimony was needed to clear away the taboos on chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, to demonstrate by concrete example that they are not necessarily so disabling, and that it is essential to face them with a positive attitude. Many, especially young people, after hearing the diagnosis wept in despair, because they feared that their life was irreparably ruined, but it is not like that ”.
The effectiveness of therapies
In the case of Mina, the therapies have been effective: «Fortunately I have not had to face numerous acute episodes, over the years I have continued to take drugs, I undergo regular check-ups, sometimes a bit complicated periods happen to me but I have always dealt with them well. I have had some ailments related to the disease such as lumpy dermatitis or joint pain. Sometimes I had the feeling that the body was rebelling, and I realized that I also had to learn to control stress ». With the arrival of the pandemic these activities have stopped and many hope that they can return: “If there were the possibility, I would gladly resume”.
Never let your guard down
By now Mina knows: you can never let your guard down. “Crohn’s disease is chronic and comes back when a moment of vulnerability occurs.” There are many ways in which Mina resists and keeps him at bay: in the past she sang in a choir, now she starts the basics and sings alone, in her house, to relax: «I really like the songs of Mina and Mia Martini. The harder they are, the more I like them, I consider them challenges. But it’s a pastime, I’ve never studied. I have a closet full of drawing articles that I use whenever inspiration strikes me. I also love reading and writing. I alternate creative activities according to the periods. Happiness I build it with what I can. I have two children, 29-year-old Sabrina and 24-year-old Daniel.
At the age of 50 she was diagnosed with cancer: «It happened during a normal mammography check-up. That malignant lump popped up and a dark period of my life began. Luckily my sister accompanied me that day, I was very upset, it was an unexpected blow. I couldn’t speak anymore, I cried a lot, I had to absorb and accept the trauma ». After careful consideration, Mina had decided to talk about her situation on social networks.
Telling through social media
“I thought it was better to tell directly what was happening to me than to leave room for suspicion and chatter. I took a risk but it turned out to be a good decision: I asked for help and closeness and I got a lot of it, and this support was precious, it helped me to overcome the moments of discouragement. At the hospital I met a lady from Scanzorosciate, who shared a room with me. Together we found the strength to react, finding many reasons to laugh despite everything, forgetting for a moment why we were there. So we spent the waiting for the surgery and then the recovery in an unexpectedly serene way. We were almost sorry when it was time to go home. Then luckily I didn’t have to undergo chemotherapy. Merit of prevention: the nodule, which was, among other things, in a position that was not easily observable, was discovered in a timely manner. They had to undergo a radical mastectomy. I have overcome even this ».
Despite the trials she has had to face, Mina, who has a sunny disposition, continues to consider herself lucky, putting into practice in everyday life, with simplicity, with her songs, the verses of the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska: “To die when necessary, without to exceed. To be reborn as necessary from what has been saved ». «I don’t want to waste time crying on myself – he concludes -, life is already short enough, it deserves to be lived with joy. I try to convey my positivity to others as well. And if I can help someone, I always do it willingly ».
© breaking latest news