Naples, Feb. 22 (LaPresse) – Patrizia Mercolino, mother of Domenico, the two-year-old child who died at Monaldi Hospital after a heart transplant that later proved damaged, is demanding truth and justice. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, she retraces her son’s ordeal: the call on the evening of December 22 informing them that a heart was available, the immediate transfer to the hospital, and the surgery the following day. When the organ did not function properly, she was told the child was connected to ECMO and that they had to wait, but Patrizia suspects that even then everyone knew about the error, kept silent out of fear.
She reports feeling betrayed by the doctors, to whom she had entrusted her son’s life, and receiving daily false reassurances: “They looked me in the eyes and told me lies,” she recounts, speaking of hopes that did not exist. Patrizia is certain that someone, or several people, must take responsibility: “No one can give me back my son, but at least his death should serve to change this system.”
While recognizing the overall value of the hospital, the mother stresses the need for transparency and for those at fault to be held accountable—not for revenge, but to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. She does not point fingers at individual doctors but waits for the investigations to determine responsibility: “When the truth comes out, we will know who made the mistake.” Domenico, Patrizia says, was a child full of life, and his loss, resulting from an avoidable error, has left an irreparable void, transforming a mother’s trust into grief and anger, and strengthening the call for justice for all children who may one day find themselves in the same situation.
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