When a local doctor raises the alarm. "Second-class citizens," says Dr. Barbara Mameli, 43, from Bari Sardo, a general practitioner in Lanusei.

On Friday, her aunt had a heart attack . "Luckily, she had the strength to call me, and I immediately intervened, requesting the ambulance from Lanusei, as per protocol, and it arrived promptly, " Mameli recounts. " We were waiting for the air ambulance, but it was busy. We were torn between traveling, knowing that it takes an hour and a half to get to Nuoro these days, or hoping the helicopter would be free."

With certain conditions, speed is everything, and you can't gamble: "This tragic event has convinced me even more of the importance of BLS courses for everyone, in schools of all levels , in catechism classes, in the streets," Mameli continues. "Our roads are disastrous year-round, but in summer, given the heavy traffic and related tourism, they're even worse. It can't take more than 90 minutes to reach Nuoro, and over two hours to reach Cagliari."

The doctor's outburst was harsh: "We don't have a critical care unit (CCU) in our hospital. I can understand that given the numbers, but this can't mean that our right to healthcare is less guaranteed than that of a citizen of Cagliari, Sassari, or Nuoro. But we Ogliastrans should always have a helicopter available, at the Lanusei fire department heliport, given our isolation. We should protest, rebel, chain ourselves, and demand proper roads. We should knock on the doors of our regional representatives and forcefully and politely demand our rights. This time, we may have been lucky, but survival shouldn't be a matter of luck. I thank," Mameli concluded, "the 118 emergency team and the entire CCU at the San Francesco hospital in Nuoro, who performed miracles."