From Poggio a Caiano to the top of Mount Etna to make people aware of Parkinson’s disease
From the blog of giuliacat
This is the commitment of Valentino Grassi, who discovered he had this disease in 2009 and has never let himself be defeated by fear: “Building walls, not to divide, but to unite” is his philosophy of life based on human relations.
POGGIO A CAIANO. “Building walls, not to divide, but to unite”: this is the philosophy of life of Valentino Grasso from Poggio a Caiano, who, even though he is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, is not resigned in the face of this disease which he copes with on a daily basis with a big smile and the desire to live. And it is precisely for the purpose of spreading this message that on 11 June he will be arriving on the top of Mount Etna in Sicily, wearing the T-shirt “Balanced wellbeing”, the group he is promoting, dedicated to movement, aggregation and culture through an itinerary of motor activities reserved especially for those suffering from chronic degenerative diseases (and not only), in order to be able to forget, even of only for a few hours, the fact of being ill.
The climb up Mount Etna of which he will be the protagonist, forms part of the wonderful project “10 Mountains in 10 Years” promoted by the Associazione Familiari Alzheimer Onlus (Onlus Alzheimer Family Association) of Caltanissetta, that foresees the climbing to the top of ten different mountains in ten years to make people more aware of degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The creator of the project is Enzo Simone, an Italo-American climber originally from Caltanissetta, who will be leading the expedition consisting of just on 300 people from various countries as they attempt the stretch called Rifugio Sapienza – Torre del Filosofo. This initiative is patronised by the Park of Mount Etna.
“I met Enzo Simone in 2011 in Prato”, explains Valentino Grassi enthusiastically, “a really strong empathy immediately ensued – his parents had been suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and on that occasion he defined me as “light”, the same name that today appears on the medal with which I will tackle the climb. At the top of the mountain, however, I will also be wearing the T-shirt “Balanced wellbeing”, to thank the administration of Poggio a Caiano which has really believed in this project, and to demonstrate that even if we have to face burdens in life, with a strong will and by encouraging each other, we will be able to bear these burdens. Shutting yourself in the home is like cutting the roots off a plant: it dies”.
Valentino Grassi discovered he had Parkinson’s disease in 2009, and since then he has discovered a new inner strength, the same strength with which he today continues to give an example of positivity. Also by climbing Mount Etna on 11 July this year. The departure is fixed for 9 July from Pisa, but before going to the airport he will be making a stop-off in the Restaurant Cibino in Prato, inside the Opificio, where in September numerous initiatives will be held for which Grassi is the promoter for “building those walls” and which are so dear to him for bringing people together.“Mine is an insidious disease. When you discover you have it, you have already been suffering for three, four or five years. How can you discover it?” he asks. “You are like an engine idling, you want to do what you have always done, you’ve got the impulse, but your hand starts to shake, your strength is no longer what it was before. And if at the beginning you don’t have any trembling, it’s probably even worse, because they will be able to cure you of everything, even depression, before the truth emerges. Being with people, giving them a smile, giving them an example of positivity, is still the best medicine. There will be more than 300 people on Etna from all over Europe: I will be there from Prato but I’m sure that I will also find lots of friends on the slopes of the volcano who have been spurred on by my own motivations and with whom there is so much to share”.