This is the recounting and the diary of my life - Marino Mattei

3.

Unfortunately, when he [Father] was low on wood or he needed to have something done, it didn't matter what the weather was like; I would have to do the chore. Because of this, in September of the following year I was once again bedridden. The combination of the pain and the thought that I might have to spend another month in bed made me desperate. I thought that I could not endure another month of this pain. In the end there was nothing to do but to resign myself to the will of God and hope to get better as soon as possible.

The days passed and the pain became more unsupportable. Each day that I thought it was getting better it would get worse. Once or twice a week Doctor Coli would come from Coreglia [a neighboring village] and he would give me pain medication and a salve to rub onto the more painful areas but it counted for nothing. The first month passed and my condition continued to worsen. By now I had become completely paralyzed. A person would stay with me day and night. I could no longer resist the pain. I would tell those who were watching me to try to move me into different positions that I thought might be more tolerable but every time they touched me it felt like they were stabbing me with a knife. I screamed like a madman. It was in this way that the days and the months passed. The doctor continued to come by and even he began to be concerned. The treatment, however, remained the same and my condition did not change. In fact, if anything, it got worse instead of better. Even Priest Zanotti, who at that time also acted as the doctor of Gromignana, would come by. He tried to do something but nothing helped. I remember one day that he filled my bed with bottles containing boiling water and he continued this for a week. I was half burned but even this cure produced no results.

By now six then seven months had passed. I had become like a shadow. My weight may have been 20 kilos. I was just skin and bones. My hands seemed to be transparent and I saw hundreds of colors with my eyes; my eyesight seemed to be dancing. I had become delirious and I had lost my will. My morale was at a complete zero. I needed some word of comfort and my mother did try to help but my father was very angry. He yelled in the house like a madman saying that I'd never again get out of bed and that he was tired of looking after me - even though he had done nothing for me. This was all the encouragement he gave me as I lay sick beyond toleration, without a will to carry on and maltreated.

At this point, eight months had passed and I had no hope left. Finally, my parents decided to take me to a Doctor Acone in Bagni Di Lucca [an area ten or so miles from Gromignana]. I did not want to go because I had resigned myself to ending my life in this way and I never believed that I could be cured but they pleaded with me and finally convinced me to go. At that time, there was no road that went to Ghivizzano [a village down the mountain, on the way to Bagni Di Lucca]. I do not know why they did not take me to Ghivizzano with the Misericordia [a service provided by the church to transport the sick] but I was taken by Ledo [a friend] on his mule. Perhaps I demanded this or else I would not have gone.

We departed for Bagni Di Lucca - my father and my mother and Ledo. But since I was so sick, I could not stay on the mule. With every step I would scream as if someone were stabbing me with a knife. My father and Ledo held me on the mule because I was like a rag and I could not do anything. As God wanted it, we arrived in Ghivizzano and there was a car ready to take us to Bagni Di Lucca. At this point, I was already exhausted. I thought I was going to die at any moment but God willing I arrived at this very good Doctor Acone.

As soon as we entered I had my appointment and I was seen immediately. The first thing he did was to conduct a long interview regarding when I was born, how long I had been ill, etc. After this he asked me to take my clothes off and he began his examination. It must have lasted a half hour during which he remained silent. When he had finished he slapped me on the shoulder and said, "You are fortunate and you are very strong by what you have told me. Your illness should have been irreparable but instead I must tell you that if you take the medication I give you in a little time, perhaps a week, you will be completely cured." I began to laugh because I thought he was kidding and by then it seemed to me impossible that one day I would be cured. However, he once again said, "You go home and stay in bed for a week and I repeat, do not get out of bed for a week even if you feel good and without a doubt, after a week you will be completely cured with the medication I give you." I had to take two pills - I do not know what they were - one at night at 8:00 and another again at night at 10:00. Along with this he gave me a salve to rub on the areas that were the most painful.

I continued not to believe that my condition would improve but the visit had encouraged me a little. I arrived back home extremely exhausted. I went to bed and, in fact, after two days I was completely cured. After a week I got up and I no longer had any pain in my body. However, it took a fair amount of time for me to return to normal because, as I said, I had become just flesh and bone. Very slowly I regained my energy and I had enough strength to return back to work.

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© 2009 by Maurice Mattei
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