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Dario Franceschini: “I have Parkinson’s. It was a devastating blow. To other patients I say: don’t isolate yourselves, k
🇮🇹 Italy /Health & Science

Dario Franceschini: “I have Parkinson’s. It was a devastating blow. To other patients I say: don’t isolate yourselves, keep living and fighting”

From Corriere della Sera · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Italian Democratic Party senator Dario Franceschini says he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in November 2020.
  • He describes the diagnosis as a devastating blow and says he initially wanted to hide the illness from his wife and daughters.
  • Franceschini says he later developed atypical parkinsonism, affecting his balance and speech, and urges other patients not to isolate themselves.

Dario Franceschini says the first instinct after his Parkinson’s diagnosis was to hide it. The influential Italian Democratic Party senator told Corriere della Sera that he immediately thought of his wife, Michela Di Biase, and his daughters, imagining the pain and difficulties the illness would cause them.

I have Parkinson’s. I was diagnosed in November 2020. An acquaintance noticed the way I moved my hands.

— Dario FranceschiniFranceschini explains how he learned of his diagnosis.

Franceschini said doctors diagnosed him in November 2020 after an acquaintance noticed the way he moved his hands. Graziano Delrio, a senator and doctor, also noticed that Franceschini dragged his feet and advised him to seek medical attention.

He described Parkinson’s as a disease whose causes remain unknown and which cannot be prevented. Treatment can address only its symptoms, he said. The disease does not go away or recede, and its progression varies from person to person but cannot be stopped.

It was a devastating blow. I had suffered a heart attack in 2014, along with a few other health problems that were resolved. Parkinson’s is a different illness, it stays with you forever.

— Dario FranceschiniHe contrasts the diagnosis with earlier health problems.

Franceschini said he has more recently developed a form of atypical parkinsonism. It has made his balance increasingly precarious and caused difficulty speaking. Speaking slowly and carefully in the interview, he joked that the latter problem might not be entirely bad for a politician.

My first thought was of my wife, who is much younger than me, and my daughters. I imagined the pain, suffering and difficulties I would cause everyone.

— Dario FranceschiniHe describes his immediate reaction to learning he had Parkinson’s.

The diagnosis, he said, felt different from the heart attack he suffered in 2014 and other health problems he had overcome. “Parkinson’s is a different illness, it stays with you forever,” he said. He also delivered a message to other patients: “Don’t isolate yourselves, keep living and fighting.”

Don’t isolate yourselves, keep living and fighting.

— Dario FranceschiniHis message to other people living with the disease.
About this summary

Originally published by Corriere della Sera in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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