For 24 years, every single day, Silvia Lecca has lived with a pain that turns her life upside down. Today she is 47 years old and lives trapped in a body tormented by Arnold's neuralgia, a rare pathology of the occipital nerves that causes unbearable chronic pain . Her odyssey begins in Cagliari, where, at just 23 years old, during a dog training session, a fall damages seven nerves. From that moment, her life changes forever .
“At first I didn’t understand what was happening,” Silvia says. “I had constant headaches, shooting pains in the back of my neck. The drugs barely worked, but over time they stopped working .” What started as a persistent pain turned into a daily torture , which no doctor, therapy or intervention in Italy could resolve.
The diagnosis came only after 13 years, countless trips throughout Italy and the choice to leave Sardinia to be closer to specialized doctors and hospitals. " I tried everything: drug therapies, experimental treatments, invasive interventions. I sold my house in Cagliari to cover the costs of transportation, hotels and treatments ."
<p>Silvia Lecca</p>Silvia is now tired and desperate but at the end of the tunnel she sees a light: an operation in Denver that promises to eliminate the pain . "The surgeon assured me that, once the device is turned on, I will no longer feel pain. I will finally be able to stop taking drugs and go back to living." The date is set: February 11, 2025. But the costs are very high: 34,300 euros for the operation, to which travel and hospitalization expenses are added, for a total of 42 thousand euros . Silvia, alone and without family support, has started a fundraiser on GoFundMe ("The dream of a life without pain") to try to cover the amount.
Silvia is a strong woman, but she doesn't hide the fact that she is exhausted. " I thought about euthanasia, I admit it. It's hard to go on when the pain never leaves you, when you can't find a way out. I just want to wake up one day without pain, live like everyone else, take care of myself and my little Chihuahua, the only animal I could afford to keep."
