From Veneto to Campania in the midst of the pandemic and the painful decision to live in a residence to avoid the risk of infecting his wife and newborn baby. The story is that of Stefano Lai, a urologist working at Santa Maria delle Grazie who moved from Padua to Pozzuoli on February 28, and has been self-isolating since then.
“My wife and I,” he says, “met four years ago and during that time we nurtured the dream of building a family. I could never have imagined that I would only be able to see our newborn baby girl through a cell phone.” She is originally from Calvizzano (the Neapolitan hinterland) with a job as a nurse in Rovigo, he is originally from Cagliari with a career built in the North; today they find themselves close, but distant, involuntary protagonists of a story that tells the bitter paradigm of love in the time of Covid. “In view of the transfer to Santa Maria delle Grazie,” says Lai, “we decided that she would be followed for her pregnancy at the Nuovo Policlinico, so she would have the opportunity to experience the period of maternity with the support of her mother, and at the same time we would not be far away. This virus has changed our plans.”
The weeks leading up to their arrival in Campania were also complex for this couple. “They soon informed us that my wife’s pregnancy was at risk, a thought I couldn’t get away from. Also because I was still in Padua with a job in Venice. Before leaving for Pozzuoli, when the first outbreaks were starting to flare up in the North, I went to Turin. I was supposed to do a master’s degree in robotic surgery, which then fell through. At that point I organized the move and left.”
Once in Pozzuoli, Lai decided to self-quarantine, he wasn't obliged to but he preferred to stay away from everyone until it was time to start work. Instead of going to live with his wife, who was about to give birth, he decided to take a room in a residence near the Santa Maria delle Grazie hospital. Little Zaira was born on March 25. "I only saw her once for a little more than an instant, they immediately transferred her to the NICU because she was too small." In the weeks that followed, there was only the possibility of meeting again via video chat, with the joy of the birth but also with a heavy heart for not being able to hold the little girl tightly in his arms.
“Luckily, work keeps me very busy, I have little time to think about anything else”. At Santa Maria della Grazie, the welcome for this new colleague was warm, the entire department directed by Giovanni Di Lauro gathered around the new father. “Now my days are very heavy – says Lai with a tired voice – I have a newborn baby and a wife who are 30 minutes away by car, but I can't go to them. I'm not afraid for my health, but I could never forgive myself if I brought the virus to them. It's difficult to bear, there are moments of great despair”. And to those who ask him what his wish is for the future, his answer is only one: “I hope that a vaccine or a therapy is found so we can resume the life we left months ago. I hope that soon we can go back to enjoying every moment. What I will do is very simple, I will kiss my wife and hold my little Zaira in my arms until my arms hurt”.
Article published on May 2, 2020 - 19:43 pm
