Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, professor and politician, 62 years old, fell ill while speaking on stage in Cortina on 27 December. Having undergone heart surgery, he ended up in intensive care. In mid-January he himself let it be known that he was better. Subsequently he continued with rehabilitation. And today with Corriere della Sera he summarizes the phases of his illness, saying that he considers himself a survivor and that he is alive “thanks to the face of Tiziana” Panella, a La7 journalist who has hosted Tagadà and his partner for two years. «I heard three blows on my diaphragm, as if I were holding my breath. As a diver you know that when you hear them you have to resurface, it’s the last warning. I understood that something was serious. Once the conference was over, I asked for a doctor to be called. The ambulance arrived, we went to the “Codivilla” hospital.”
INSIGHTS
The two phone calls
«I was taken to Belluno by ambulance, and there I was lucky enough to find the head of Cardiology, Alessandro de Leo, who immediately understood that I had a dissection of the aorta. He told me two things, which I will always remember.
The first: we need to perform a life-saving operation on her. The second: it can go badly. I was able to make two phone calls. I called my eldest daughter and Tiziana, with whom I have been with for two years, trying to reassure her, while she tried to reassure me. They took me by helicopter to Treviso.”
The coma
«I remember the whole period in the coma – he says -. A muddy, black river that was under my feet, like Ulysses and Achilles. I think it was Hades. The river where dead souls are. I saw no light, no hope other than fighting to live. Maybe when you die the feeling is that of a hug. We experience death as frightening, I have never had much sympathy for it, I have no expectations about what will come next. But the thing that surprised me was that I wasn’t afraid. I remember seeing the roots of the trees from below, as if I were in a crevasse. And every now and then, distant voices. At one point I wondered if I was dead. I thought: I can’t do it, maybe I just need to let go and everything will pass. Death can’t be much worse.”
Love for Tiziana
My thoughts went to Tiziana and her daughters. «I saw her face, I wanted to see it again. I spoke to my mother and father, who are no longer here: “Give me a hand, this is not the time to join you”. I opened my eyes. And I saw Tiziana who was there with me.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED