Valentina after liver transplantation.
Valentina today is 20 years old and yesterday morning supported the oral test of the high school exam for the administration and marketing administration address at the Nuccia Casula Technical Institute in Varese. An important stop for the girl of Albanian origin who now dreams of graduating in economics, landed in Italy in 2013 when he was only 8 years old and the liver destroyed by Wilson’s disease: They remained a few weeks of life, if he had not urgently received an organ transplant. At home, after the diagnosis, they could not ensure neither intervention nor subsequent care. Thus began the Tam Tam through some relatives residing in Varese, who knew a volunteer of The bridge of the smile. The ETS Foundation (Third Sector Authority) organizes recreational and recreational activities for hospitalized children and supports their families in the pediatric wards of Varese, Cittiglio, Tradate, Busto Arsizio and Saronno; It also raises funds to buy cutting -edge equipment and finances scientific research projects on childhood diseases, as well as managing the Casa del Sorriso in Varese to host family members away from places of residence.
The problem was not only to make the girl come to Italy with her family: «He came from a non -EU country and the care he needed to be paid; Although Valentina’s hospitalization had been granted with humanitarian purposes, the cost was about 130 thousand euros, to be collected in no time because the family of humble origins did not have this important figure. Thanks to the generosity of almost a thousand donors, mobilized by the Foundation, the euros collected reached 145 thousand “, recalls Emanuela Crivellaro, president of Il Ponte del Sorriso. But, apart from the economic side, “It was very difficult to succeed in a similar undertaking because there is no conventional relationship between Italy and Albania who protect children in these situations. Thanks to our tenacity, to an incredible series of coincidences and the synergy of all, including the Lombardy Sanità Region, we miraculously obtained, within a week, permission to bring Valentina to Bergamo, at the unit of gastroenterology and pediatric transplants of the Pope John XXIII hospital, contacted by us “. The Foundation had committed itself to the hospital to guarantee the coverage of costs, so that “Valentina’s transfer from Valentina from Tirana to that of Bergamo was quickly authorized”.
Landed on the evening of 25 October 2013 in Orio al Serio, on November 3 at 6 am the girl received a new liver, which allowed her to continue living, thanks also to the collaboration between the Lombardy Region, Nord Italian Transplant Program (Nitp) and the National Transplant Center. “Valentina immediately learned a phrase in Italian” I love you “, who repeated every time he saw us or he felt on the phone,” underlines Crivellaro. «I have the courage and do you know why I say so? I got sick, a serious illness, I was a lot of time in the hospital. I could also die, but instead I am here. I suffered. I cried. I fought. I fell and I got up. I wanted to live and I succeeded, “Valentina wrote to school, after passing the intervention and hospitalization.
In addition to her mother and younger brother, Emanuela Crivellaro and her husband have always remained next to her: having become her foster parents, they followed her path to date. «It has remained in Italy because it still needs health care that is not possible in Albania: it needs anti -corporate medicines, annual checks and periodic blood tests. Our two children, who in 2013 were 26 and 19 years old, were very happy and contrary to returning to the home of the mother and brother of Valentina. The mother works at the house of the smile, while her brother studies and graduated in two years “, reports the president of the Foundation. «We want to renew our thanks to all those who in 2013 believed, together with us, in the possibility of saving a 8 -year -old girl. Without all the solidarity received 12 years ago, today we could not see its bright smile ».
(In the photo above: Valentina immediately after the high school exam)
