Good news, inside good news, inside another good news.
For the first time, a patient heals from coronavirus thanks to the experimental therapy that uses the plasma of convalescent patients. Inside this good news there is another one, which makes us feel good and – if there was ever any need for it – it increases the trust that we have for the expert hands that help us: the woman is Italian and has been cared by the health workers of the Poma hospital in Mantua. It is obvious, repetitive, to say that we are proud of our healthcare, but it is good to insist that when all this has passed, and soon it will be, we will have to bring this certainty with us, especially when queuing for a ticket or disappointed in the delay of a visit. We will return to say terrible things of those we are close to sanctifying today. We are a people full of genius, but sometimes empty of memory.
But back to the point. And the amazing point is that this second good news also carries another. Yes, because Pamela, the healed woman, was isolated during her stay (as per-protocol all COVID patients are) but she was not alone. During the days of fear, and then of hope and then of joy, Pamela had another person with her – within herself.
“The most important thing is to go home with her” – she said once the terror ended – “The baby will be named Beatrice Vittoria. Because we won this battle.”
Two bags of immune plasma were enough to get Pamela out of fear.
But Pamela is twenty-eight-years-old. She is young. And what happened to her doesn’t make waves. Each case is different and this is no time to shout for definitive solutions. There is no bibliography that certifies similar cases in the world. And this makes us proud of the primacy, but also prudent. Hope is great. But it goes hand in hand with caution. And trust in those who care for us.
She was admitted on April 9, Pamela on the 10th took a turn for the worse and was transferred to Pulmonology department with uninterrupted monitoring of the baby.
“We have avoided using assisted ventilation to protect the fetus. The advantage of rapid healing allows us to not keep the baby in a hostile environment with poor oxygenation. Ultrasound shows that everything is fine. The fetus is twenty-fourth weeks along.” Words by Gianpaolo Grisolia, responsible for Prenatal Pathology and Poma Pregnancy. He is responsible for the healing of Pamela together with Giuseppe De Donno, director of the Pneumology department.
Pamela was released yesterday. It’s not easy to put into words her relief, satisfaction and emotion from the staff who assisted her.
Plasma therapy continues to be tested: according to the protocol signed with San Matteo of Pavia, twenty-four patients have already been treated in Mantua and fifty bags of blood component have been infused. We await, with confidence. And prudence.
