Achille Polonara was at risk of death . The Dinamo basketball player and his wife, Erika Bufano, spoke about it in a report by Le Iene correspondent Nicolò De Vitis.
Recovery from a bone marrow transplant proved much more complicated than expected . The surgery, crucial to treating the acute myeloid leukemia diagnosed on June 10, was performed on September 25 at Sant'Orsola Hospital in Bologna, thanks to the marrow of an American donor, who was 90% compatible.
But after three weeks, a sudden complication arose: a cerebral embolism that caused a severe lack of oxygen to the brain. "He developed a blood clot, and his chances of survival were very low," his wife said.
The basketball player was immediately placed in a medically induced coma to protect his brain. A coma that lasted 10 days, Polonara himself recounted those dramatic moments: "They told me there was a 90% chance I'd die. When I was in the coma, I felt like I was in another city. But don't get rid of me so easily: I made a promise to Erika."
The basketball player has begun to gradually recover, although he still has limited mobility in his right arm. Last weekend, he received permission to leave the hospital and will be discharged on Friday . In recent months, he has "desperately missed" his children Vitoria and Achille Junior, aged 5 and 3, and will soon be able to hug them again. The children knew nothing about those dramatic days without video calls: "We told them his phone had broken."
At the end of the service, Polonara launched an appeal: "There is a need for many donors, and by each of us giving our contribution, many lives can be saved. Your gesture can help many people live and heal."
(Unioneonline)
