His cat, Athena , who fell from the roof of the apartment building for six floors , was " between life and death " and he saved her by subjecting her to a CT scan and then to drainage at the Parini regional hospital in Aosta , where he is responsible for the simple structure of Radiology and interventional neuroradiology . The Aosta Valley Health Authority has started internal investigations and Dr. Gianluca Fanelli has responded with a letter, saying he is willing to compensate for any financial damage caused.

"By profession - the doctor writes - I am an interventional radiologist and I knew I could save her only with a timely intervention . At a time when the three CT scans were not in service , after 8 pm on Monday 27 January, when the tests scheduled for the day were finished and all the diagnostic machines were waiting to perform any urgent tests, having verified that there were no patients and, obviously, not clocking in, I decided to check what her condition was and what I could possibly do to save her ."

After the fall, at the vet " posterior fractures emerged, detachment of at least one of the two lungs with a suspected pneumothorax and possible lesions of the internal organs ". Hence the rush to the hospital: "I performed a radiological exam lasting a few seconds using one of the three CT scans and, having thus assessed the seriousness of the conditions of the pneumothorax, I then performed the drainage, finally and immediately allowing her to breathe : from that moment the cat began to breathe again and gradually recovered ".

Athena is one of his five cats, "all, over time, found on the street and saved from extreme conditions". "If I hadn't done everything I could - writes the doctor - since I am an interventional radiologist who is therefore used to making immediate decisions to save lives and my cat had died, I would never have been able to forgive myself, even for my children who adore her ".