After your surgery on February 11, you traveled south to the Fisiology Center of Forlì to begin your rehabilitation. Tell us how that went?

Yes, I stayed for around a month at the Physio Center. The facilities were amazing, and for the first 3-4 days I worked a lot in the swimming pool. I noticed a lot of improvement with my water therapy sessions, and after three days, I was able to walk without a walker or any support device, which was amazing. Then, in addition to the exercises in the pool, we also started some specific work such as massage therapy and exercises. After that, I began to ride a little bit on the stationary bike.

Was the evolution better than expected at that point?

I saw that I was improving every day. That was incredible, and mentally it made it much easier to continue the process. Yes, some days were hard. You wake up, you feel your body is a bit stiff, and some leg and hip movements are hard. But, despite losing a lot of strength in both legs, on my last day at the Center we did some tests, and they showed that both of my legs were on the same level, which is a really good sign and proof that all the hard work that was done paid off.

Did you have someone staying with you during your rehab in Forlì?

No, I was there by myself. They don’t have sleeping facilities, so initially I stayed at a nearby hotel, but then after 10 days, the hotel closed. They only had around 10 guests, so the management decided to close the doors. It was a difficult situation to stay open due to the expenses and so forth, but luckily the same owner of the hotel had a small one-bedroom apartment not far from the Center, and I was able to stay there until the end of my treatment.

How did you cope psychologically and mentally during this period?

Luckily now with all the technologies like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Skype, I could keep in contact with my family, with my girlfriend, and with my friends, and they all supported me quite well. And to be honest, I was pretty occupied during the day at the Center. I started the rehab each day at 9:00 am, taking a break for lunch, and then resumed my sessions until 6:00/6:30. So, at night, I was pretty tired and had little time to feel lonely.