Watch: ‘Life Should Never Be Taken For Granted’: How Puttinu Cares Saved Yann’s Life
When he was just 11 years old, Yann started to experience intense headaches which would quickly get bad enough send him to hospital. Nobody in his family could have expected that he would be rushed into emergency surgery.
By that evening, they found out that Yann had a brain tumour close to his pineal gland.
Yann’s was the first known case displaying brain cancer of his type in Malta. Understandably, he said, that caused his mum to panic.
It was then that Doctor Calvagna – who died tragically at the age of 63 last year, having been hit by a car whilst out running in Qawra – stepped in and helped Yann and his family feel a little bit more calm about their dire situation.
“He wasn’t just a person who did his job because that was his job. He had the passion and the good heart to try to help you. He went out of his way. Once, he came in at three in the morning to look at a scan and put our minds at ease.”
Watch the video below which is part of the ‘Survivor Stories’ series, a campaign by SideStreet and Lovin Malta to raise funds for Puttinu.
Yann’s cancer was treated between England, Malta and Germany – with a lot of help from Puttinu.
“When we were in England we stayed in the Puttinu flats. When we were in Malta and Germany we had a lot of support from them, morally. They kept me courageous and hopeful through a difficult nine months of treatment.”
Yann spoke very highly of “his second parents” at Puttinu, Rennie Zerafa and Angele Cuschieri.
“They’re always there for you, always laughing, and always trying to keep your morale as high as possible. It’s priceless, having people like Rennie, Angele and the Puttinu team supporting you.”
He also reminisced fondly about Doctor Calvagna, sharing that to this day when he thinks about him, he starts welling up.
“Doctor Calvagna was the person who saved my life. He’s someone I can’t replace”
Yann shows his appreciation to Puttinu by working with them to finish a project they’re working on in England – setting up a flat which will be much closer to hospitals there than the one he stayed in during his treatment.
“Based on my experience, sometimes I would have a 45 minute drive to the hospitals. When you have 45 stitches, every pothole or bump in the street would be hurt. The new building will be a lot closer.”
Though the experience was difficult, Yann sees it as the reason that he is able to be grateful for so much – even seemingly little things.
“I learned to appreciate the small things in life. The fact that I get to go out and be in the sun. I can eat what I want. After an experience like mine, small things don’t stay so small.”
“Every moment in your life that you can appreciate, live in that moment, make the best of it, and then what happens going forwards – we’ll see. Life is never to be taken for granted.”
Yann is now 19 years old. He sings, plays several instruments and takes care of a Franciscan youth group – while also studying psychology at university, and digital marketing as an extra-curricular.
Yann is continuing to work alongside the organisation which helped save his life as it is, in his eyes, the best way to “keep Doctor Calvagna alive through the spirit of Puttinu”.
Puttinu Cares have an upcoming fundraising marathon which will be aired live on all local channels on Good Friday. This year’s edition will run on April 7th, from 9am to 3pm and 9pm to midnight.
If you want to make a difference in patients lives and help Puttinu here’s how you can do it:
Donation Lines:
5160 2007 – Eur10
5170 2006 – Eur15
5180 2008 – Eur25
5190 2062 – Eur50
SMS Donations:
5061 6499 – Eur1.16
5061 7380 – Eur2.33
5061 8939 – Eur6.99
5061 9225 – Eur11.65
HSBC Bank Transfer
Account number: 089077341001
IBAN: MT55MMEB44897000000089077341001
Swift Code: MMEBMTMT
Cheques can be made payable to Puttinu Cares
Are you going to help Puttinu?
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