#DearBocconiansInAction... from a Law Student
A VOLUNTEER FOR THE ITALIAN RED CROSS IN BERGAMO, THIS STUDENT WHO PREFERS TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, LAUNCHES AN APPEAL: DO NOT SIMPLY STAY AT HOME BUT STAY CLOSE TO OTHERS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY, AND HELP WHOEVER YOU CAN. TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE, WRITE TO STAMPA@UNIBOCCONI.ITI am a student of the Law program and volunteer for the Italian Red Cross in the Bergamo district, where I live. As is well known, our area is among the most dramatically affected by the virus. In our area, the Red Cross mainly deals with emergency medical transport (112 phone hotline) and so, ever since I joined this beautiful family almost two years ago, I have always done that. Emergency work is never easy; we are the first to arrive when someone feels sick or when an accident occurs, we are the ones who must understand and act quickly, we are the first to whom the families of patients turn with questions and fears. We are not doctors, we are not nurses, we are volunteers trained to provide help to those who need it - no ifs, ands or buts.
This virus has deeply shocked us and the continuation of this epidemic is exhausting us; the shifts are increasingly long and unpredictable, the waits in hospitals endless, the personal protective equipment suffocating and the silence of our patients' fear deafening.
I wanted to share, in particular, the story of a patient who I had the pleasure of accompanying home after her discharge from the Bergamo hospital, where she spent more than a week attached to an oxygen cylinder. This 51-year-old Covid positive woman couldn't wait to go home to her children and she didn't stop telling me how lucky she felt. She called the doctors and nurses who assisted her "wingless angels" and told me about her suffering; 3 days in the Emergency Room with 40 fever, 10 liters per minute of oxygen, without being able to eat or drink and without seeing the end of it. As soon as a room was available they admitted her to the ward; she saw a lot of people either make it or not, and no, it was not just ninety year olds with pathologies of all kinds. "Age doesn't matter anymore," she said.
The experience of this lady, like many others that I have had the good fortune to hear in this unfortunate situation, has given rise to conflicting emotions; from the hope of recovery, to the fear of disease, but also concern for the health situation in general and gratitude for those who are working hard to improve it.
This period is difficult for everyone and what I hope and ask is that people all start to give their all to improve the situation. My appeal is not only "stay at home", but it has also been "stay close" with the means that technology has fortunately provided to all your loved ones. Make sure that the people who count on you find a minimum of order in all this chaos, ask yourself what you can do to help and do it! At this moment more than ever there is need for kindness and solidarity. Erase selfishness and indolence from your soul; only then will we shine again.
by Anonymous, Bocconi Law Student
Translated by Richard Greenslade
