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The presentation of the book took place yesterday in the representative hall of the municipal delegation of Fuscaldo Marina Voices from the Resuscitation. Botulism and stories of fragility, cure, rebirth by Barbara Modaffari, intensive care nurse at Cosenza hospital.
After the greetings of the mayor of Fuscaldo, Giacomo Middea, Don Sergio Locane, director of the Health Pastoral of the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano, and Professor Andrea Bruni, director of the Emergency Department of the Cosenza hospital, spoke. The author also took part in the meeting, while the journalist Giovanni Folino moderated.
Narrative medicine as a treatment tool
At the center of the evening, the role of narrative medicine as a tool capable of recognising, welcoming and verbalizing the emotions linked to the disease and the experience of hospitalization. Modaffari underlined how a form of emotional numbness is increasingly widespread in contemporary society, capable of generating discomfort in young people but also in adults.
A sort of internal muffling that can hinder correct introspection and which, too often, can also contribute to violent behavior against oneself or others.
«The trauma of an illness, if told, can be soothed in its pain and overcome and, even if not completely forgotten, allows emotions to be placed in the right place», highlighted Barbara Modaffari. Narration thus becomes part of the treatment process: giving voice to fear, suffering and fragility allows us to attribute meaning to the experience and transform pain into awareness and the possibility of rebirth.
The “Open Resuscitation” project
During the meeting, the humanization of care project launched in July 2025 by Professor Andrea Bruni was also discussed. The initiative led to an extension of visiting hours for the families of people hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Cosenza hospital.
The “Open Resuscitation” model, already tested in other healthcare settings, has produced benefits on a psychological and relational level, helping to strengthen the climate of trust between patients, families and healthcare workers. A path still to be defined and consolidated, but which could also be extended to other departments, in the perspective of healthcare that is increasingly attentive to the person as a whole.
Spirituality and support in the treatment process
Particular attention was also paid to spirituality in the treatment process and the need to guarantee a constant presence of spiritual guides capable, while respecting every religious belief, of offering support to patients, their families and the healthcare workers themselves.
Among the audience there were also two protagonists of the stories told in the book: Riccardo Martino, a young man from Fuscaldo accompanied by a representative of the Fuscaldo 1 Scout group, of which he is part, and Mariangela Russo, Paola’s wife and mother. Their testimonies, marked by spirituality and courage, have given further strength to the themes addressed in the volume.
The presentation of Voices from the Resuscitation It thus offered an opportunity to discuss the value of listening, closeness and speaking. Because behind every illness experience there is not just a clinical case, but a person with their own fears, their own affections and a story that deserves to be welcomed and told.