He repeats it like a mantra. "I want to do it alone and get back on my feet." His voice is still a little hoarse, but it has all the strength of someone who never gives up. And the challenge for the 15-year-old from Solarussa, paralyzed after a dive in Torregrande on June 7th, is one he can't afford to miss . Seven months of hospitalizations, surgeries, and complications that would have sunk anyone but the student at the Oristano high school. "I'm taking this situation lightheartedly and serenely," he admits. " Not moving my legs isn't a problem, I don't feel any different. And I'm aiming to get better."

The story – That dive into Torregrande was all about having fun and enjoying the summer that had just begun. But the excitement of the last day of school was shattered by the shallow water. "I dove right in, hit the left side of my face," he recalls. "I heard a 'crack,' and I immediately knew something had broken." The 15-year-old couldn't move; he remained underwater for a minute or two until a classmate intervened. "He pulled me out, but I'd also been drinking," he says. "Then help arrived, and we rushed to the hospital." From San Martino to Gemelli Hospital in Rome, it's been dark: three weeks of which he has no memory. "I've started to have clear memories since June 25th, I was wearing an oxygen mask, in intensive care." Meanwhile, the diagnosis: his legs and arms are paralyzed due to a cervical injury.

But the ordeal was only just beginning. A fundraiser has now been organized on the Gofundme platform (by Eleonora Pisu). "Showing solidarity at this time is truly important because the treatments are long, demanding, and expensive," commented the mayor of Solarussa, Mario Tendas.

The full article will be available in L'Unione Sarda on newsstands Saturday, January 3.

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