If you are wondering why this blog has an Italian title and flavour, I will explain…
“Open my heart and you will see, engraved inside of it, ‘Italy’.” - Robert Browning
Although I’ve lived in Manchester for most of my day, I was actually born in Barrow-in-Furness, a no-nonsense shipbuilding town on the North-West coast of England. Whilst the town is famous for building the best and most technologically advanced Submarines in the world (IMHO)…it’s about Italian as sushi.
That said, as a boy in the early hours of my morning, Barrow did have an Italian cafe called Brucciani’s, and looking back, I think this is where my love of Italy started. A visit to the cafe was a treat for all the senses. The smell and taste of the food, the touch of the Formica table tops, the sight of an amazing strawberry milkshake magically appearing in front of me, and the noise of the milk frothing machine and jukebox fighting each other for my attention.
From then on, my childhood and teenage memories are littered with the influences and images of Italy. I watched (on a portable television) the beautiful red Ferrari’s of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni race against James Hunt’s McLaren for the 1976 F1 championship, at school I learned about the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, and in the Co-op window I caught a reflection of myself proudly strutting down the street in a new ‘must have’ Fila tracksuit top (well it was the early 80’s).
I’ve been lucky enough to have visited Italy on numerous occasions, either on long weekend breaks with my wife, or on family holidays with our children, and discovered a culture and way of life that seemed to dovetail with everything I liked. Whilst my idea of heaven would be to live in a village on the edge of Lake Garda, Rome is my second favourite city in the world, obviously after sunny Manchester. In Rome, a couple of minutes walk from the Trevi Fountain, stands the old telephone exchange. This beautiful old building has been transformed into a very stylish restaurant that I adore. Its name is Baccano, which means noise in Italian…I assume because of the loud chaos of the buildings former life.
“What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find there that can be found nowhere else? I believe it is a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago” - Erica Jong
As my afternoon was drawing to a close, I found myself in a hospital bed on Manchester University Hospital’s (Wythenshawe) ICU listening to the noise of my ventilator and monitors, along with the hushed conversations of the doctors and nurses, when a lady in a white tunic came over and spoke to me in an Italian accent. Barbara Bonvento is originally from Italy, but has worked in the UK for many years, and is a Critical Care Respiratory Physiotherapist. She also leads the amazing ICU Physio team. Barbara and her team spent many hours helping me to mobilise and keep my chest clear, as did the brilliant physios at Tameside ICU and the North West Ventilation Unit.
The memories of trying to walk around the unit with Barbara singing and providing support (along with the team), having a bit of a pop quiz and a chat brings a smile to my face every time I think about it. Although, I wish I could have the same smile when I think about the ‘Cough Assist’ machine. This piece of kit is used when patients are unable to cough and effectively clear their secretions (sputum/phlegm) as a result of neuromuscular disorders, like MND. It does this by inflating the lungs with a positive airway pressure (like taking a massive deep breath), then providing a rapid change to negative pressure (to force out and exhale all the air) to assist the patient’s cough. However, the broad smiles and congratulations from all the physiotherapists every time I coughed up an organ or two was quite motivational, if a little disturbing and sadistic.
So, after that rambling explanation, the Italian title and flavour of this blog is not just because I love Italy, its to pay homage to Barbara and all the Respiratory Physiotherapists who undertake a vital role with professionalism, kindness and a great sense of humour!
If you would like to see a quick video of a Cough Assist machine at work, you will find one in the Sound & Vision page of this blog.
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