Paolo
Humans

Paolo

Business Consultant and Travel Enthusiast in the Orient
Liposarcoma (rare tumor)
Milan, Italy (Humanitas Rozzano Hospital)

“When I turned 18, I took a trip to Venezuela. I had never been to South America before then. In fact, that was my first trip far from home. Far from Milan. To this day, it remains one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had. Venezuela remains in my eyes a landscape of surprising, at times surreal nature. With serene, sociable, lovable daily life scenarios. In short, something different from what we see and hear today about this country.

I was born in a Milan different from the one we know. I grew up in a generation where we learned by doing. If I can say, we 'thought' less, but 'acted' more often. I started working right after high school. Studying is important. But I believe that practicing all that studying is equally vital.

Traveling revives and soothes the spirit and soul. And of that little free time that is never enough, I try to fill it by spending it far from home. Like in the Orient, which I like very much. Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, which were my last visited destinations, remind me how important it is to travel – not only to revive and soothe the spirit and soul. Embarking on a journey pushes us directly to understand how vulnerable we really are when far from home.

You never stop learning, growing, and trusting others, those around us. Speaking of this, I have always had great trust in others. Especially in the younger generations. Precisely those new generations we talked about earlier. We, the 'now old ones,' must have the ability to accept that stepping aside is for their benefit, and I often think of my children, how proud I am of them, and that I would leave the world in their hands if it were up to me.

A few months ago, my wife noticed a significant increase in size in my right posterior thigh. I had no pain or discomfort in general. Physical activity, or carrying out common daily activities, was never compromised by this seemingly harmless issue. But at that point, it was obvious something abnormal was happening.
Through a series of lab tests, diagnostic imaging, and biopsy, we discovered that this mass, seemingly symptomatically harmless, was a Liposarcoma of adipose nature. Today, I am awaiting surgery to remove the mass. And I have never been so confident about a procedure before. The attending surgeons will achieve a perfect post-operative result.

How much are we worth as human beings when we become patients? I believe answering this question involves different considerations depending on the family context we belong to and the territorial context in which we live. In my case, becoming a patient allowed me to better understand how much affection I am surrounded by, thanks to the relatives and friends who are close to me. During hospitalization and various check-ups, I also realized, thanks to the incredible professionalism and humanity of the healthcare staff, the respect these workers show towards patients despite the difficulties sometimes in managing complex situations.
All this made me understand that we humans, helped also by a bit of luck, can be worth a lot even as patients.

Personally, becoming a patient made me discover some traits of my character previously almost ignored, such as the ability to face illness with great serenity and, also thanks to the fact that it has not manifested in its most severe form, my desire to live life not only has not decreased but, indeed, has increased and leads me to discover new scenarios and new challenges to face.”

Cecilia
“Life, for me, is magic. A continuously evolving journey, full of surprises that only we can manage. The secret lies in living it to the fullest. However, throughout my existence, life has not always been magical. ‘There is nothing that is not an intermediate state between being and nothingness,’ Hegel used to say. And he was right. In beauty, I have indeed found ugliness, sadness, and shocking revelations. I have endured many family and personal hardships. I have known the real meaning of loss
Megan
"Why my mother left, then, I will never know. I have spent endless hours asking God for an explanation as to why He needed to take her away from me so soon. I still need her in my life – I wasn’t ready to let her go so soon. There were still so many things we wanted to do together in this life and so many topics to talk about. If I had known that the time with her would be so short, I would have hugged her a little longer, spent more time with her, opened up about many more things, and shared mo
Kaelan Yao
"In our preclinical years, before we ever talk to a patient, we first talk among ourselves and then with actors playing the patients. It’s hard! No one tells you how challenging and complex it is to have a conversation that sounds normal with someone while you simultaneously need to gather information, advise them on their problems, and develop a treatment plan. It seems that such a primary and simple part of being human, namely having a conversation, has suddenly become much more difficult. Yet
Ryan Sutherland
"After two years of medical studies, after countless hours spent reviewing lecture notes and exhaustively practicing for anatomy exams, I realize that the knowledge of the human condition is as important, if not more important, than understanding physiology. This realization first dawned on me through my various university experiences. The bold words ‘INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RELATIONS’ etched above the entrance of the Yale School of Medicine remind me that we are more than just scientists. We are als
Ashley Grey
"The first time I visited a hospital, I was 11 years old. Despite my mother having been hospitalized several times before, my parents tried to keep my sister and me away for as long as possible. But that day, there was going to be the hospital admission that would mark the end of all admissions: my mother was receiving a new kidney. I wasn’t bothered by the cacophony of alarms, beeps, and cries. The only thing I could see was my mother. The transplant was successful, but unbeknownst to everyone