"No excuses, they tried to cover it up," Domenico's parents' anger at the Chamber.

Rome - "The trial will begin at the end of September. We're waiting to see if they have the courage to look us in the eye. Now the desire for justice is stronger than the pain." It's a call for unequivocal truth that comes from the press room of the Chamber of Deputies, where Patrizia Mercolino presented her book today. A burned heart. Your story. Lest we forget. (Piemme), dedicated to his son Domenico, the child who died following a heart transplant at the Monaldi Hospital in Naples.

A pain still raw, which transforms into an indictment in view of the start of the trial in court.
The wall of silence and accusations of cover-up

Recalling the darkest days of her life before reporters, Domenico's mother mince no words when describing the attitude of the medical staff involved. "No one apologized to us, and if they did now, it wouldn't do any good," said Patrizia Mercolino. Investigations in recent months have uncovered disturbing new details: "It seemed like that child was a toy, not a human life."

The most scathing criticism is directed at the total lack of empathy and transparency: "There was a lack of communication, I felt mocked. To err is human, but here they didn't just err: they hid everything from us and tried to cover it up." The woman finds strength only in the memory of her son's resilience, who remained on ECMO machines for two months: "He fought for sixty days, going beyond all expectations. I'm convinced he did it to give everything time to come out. For him, we must move forward."

The book recounts the family's dramatic journey, from the discovery of the serious heart condition to the hope of a transplant, which ultimately turned into tragedy. This intimate story also serves as a public plea for justice and a call to remember.

The book and the birth of the Foundation

In her book, Patrizia Mercolino retraces her son's long ordeal and the pain she and her husband, Antonio Caliendo, endured. The pages reveal a long love letter to Domenico, but also a desire to transform grief into civic duty.

This is why a foundation dedicated to the child was created, with the aim of supporting the search for truth and justice and promoting initiatives to ensure no other family has to face a similar tragedy.

While reiterating his confidence in Italy's public health system, Mercolino stressed that incidents like the one involving his son "must never happen again."

Institutional support

The meeting was opened by Matilde Siracusano, Undersecretary for Relations with Parliament, who promoted the initiative.
Domenico has won the hearts of all Italian mothers. Patrizia fought like a lioness to save her son and continues to do so today in her search for the truth. Institutions have a duty to improve the healthcare system so that tragedies like this never happen again.

The presentation was also attended by MPs Simonetta Matone and Rita Dalla Chiesa, as well as the Deputy Public Prosecutor of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Annalisa Imparato.
Dalla Chiesa called the book "a testimony of strength, pain, and anger," also highlighting the role of Father Antonio Caliendo, "silent but ever-present."

Matone reiterated his respect for the work of the judiciary, emphasizing that the initiative does not represent a pre-judgment of the trial, but rather a gesture of solidarity with the family.

«The patient must remain at the center»

In her speech, magistrate Annalisa Imparato invited everyone to reflect on the relationship between justice, healthcare, and patient protection.

"Behind every case there are not numbers or statistics, but people. This story must push us to improve the healthcare system and ensure that the patient always remains at the center of attention."
The book presentation concluded with a long round of applause for Domenico's family, symbolizing a battle that continues in the courts and that today demands, even from institutions, a response based on truth, responsibility, and justice.

The closed pain of a father

Beside Patrizia Mercolino, her husband Antonio Caliendo struggles to find words. The few he does utter are barely audible, broken by emotion: "I'm very angry." The loss of his son has hit an already shy personality like a millstone.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the man confided to news agencies about his initial reaction and the subsequent, painful realization: "I reacted by withdrawing into myself, as I always have. I had already suffered a lot in my life, and the loss of my son was an enormous added pain." Today, however, he has chosen to seek help: "I'm starting a psychological program. I'm talking to a specialist: I have to do it, also for the sake of my two children who are waiting for me at home."

The prosecutor's accusation: "Healthcare is a slave to numbers."

But Domenico's story isn't just a private tragedy; it reflects systemic flaws. Annalisa Imparato, Deputy Prosecutor at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere courthouse, confirmed this during the presentation. According to the magistrate, the book is "a warning to seek the truth and a reflection on the state of the Italian healthcare system."

Investigative experience in medical malpractice cases, the prosecutor explained, often reveals "complex and compromised scenarios," characterized by communication deficits within medical teams that ultimately harm the patient. Added to this is an excessive corporate mentality: "Too much importance is given to numbers rather than to the individual," Imparato complained. "We look at the surgeon who performs the most operations, the facility with the lowest costs, or the one with the lowest mortality rates.

But not everything can be reduced to a number, and career paths often guide choices." A warning addressed directly to institutions: "If the system is based on logics other than patient health, it will inevitably fail."