After Losing His Leg In Mosta Hit And Run, Vincenzo Is Trying To Get A Robotic Leg… And His Life Back
Vincenzo Garofolo’s life drastically changed on 5th December 2021, when he was involved in a traffic accident that cost him his right leg.
Young, full of life and energy, he is determined to never give up on fulfilling his life’s dreams – though it will not be easy.
His aspirations are big, from hiking the Camino de Santiago and participating in the Paralympics, to making it to Everest base camp – but Vincenzo now needs a robotic leg, and that costs money.
“I want to tell you how my life changed in December. That morning, my life was turned upside down by a tragic car accident that caused the loss of my right leg,” Vincenzo told Lovin Malta.
“I was on the bike, and after I slipped, I was hit by a car that literally devastated me and then disappeared into thin air. Subsequently, I was transported to the hospital in Malta, Mater Dei, in mortal danger, where I spent 10 very long days in a coma,” he explained.
Not only did he end up on the road after the initial slip, but a car allegedly struck him on his leg, causing serious damage, before driving away.
“The damage reported by the accident was multiple, in addition to the loss of the limb, the CT scans revealed two different brain haemorrhages, a bilateral contusion to the lungs, two deep fractures to the T3 and T4 vertebrae and the diplopia on my awakening, that is the vision double, a problem that I partially corrected by placing a prism on the right leg.”
“In addition, upon my arrival at the hospital due to the loss of the limb, a deep cut near the eye and one behind the head, despite having a helmet, about two litres of blood were transfused.”
“The rehabilitation, which is still in progress, required six months in hospital and continuous physiotherapy.”
“To this day I am taking control of my life again, but with considerable difficulties and insufficient means. To be able to do it fully, I need advanced prostheses to start walking, playing sports and returning to a normal life, without the fear of not being able to do something due to the lack of the right one.”
“The cost of these devices amounts to tens of thousands of euros, which unfortunately neither I nor my family has, and they are not provided by the national health system, which only covers a ridiculous part of the costs of a single prosthesis.”
“In fact, I need different prostheses, to go back to walking, running, resuming refereeing or carrying out any sporting activity, different devices are needed, which must be periodically revised and replaced after a few years.”
Precisely for this reason, Vincenzo has now started a fundraiser page, in order to gather the funds needed to buy the protheses necessary to return to a closer-to-normal life.
“I have great ambitions for my future, I dream of being able to participate in the Paralympics, get to Everest base camp, do the Camino de Santiago and I don’t want this to be denied me for a purely economic problem.”
Vincenzo will be keeping people updated with his story and continuous updates throughout his journey on his social media platform, where he encourages people to follow.
“I warmly thank all the people who will help me in this difficult path, both with a donation but also with a simple thought.”
Donations can be sent here
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