Valeria doesn't give up

Valeria Favorito is now 34 years old, but during her still young life she had to face two serious forms of leukemia: the first in 2000, the second in 2013.

Of the first experience he says: «Initially they told my parents that there would be nothing that could be done for me and that I had only a few days to live, as my entire spinal cord was diseased and I had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Then they said that the only lifeline would be a bone marrow transplant; I have a brother and a sister, who were compatible with each other and not with me, so we had to find an extra-familial donor." To everyone's surprise, in May 2000 the donor was found and the transplant was scheduled for May 21st, as she says, her "second birthday".

Valeria was not able to immediately know her donor, only after three years did she discover that it was the well-known presenter Fabrizio Frizzi: «For me it could also have been another person, but it was a brother to all effects. In fact, having the same marrow is special, because, unlike the organs that you can donate if you are no longer there, with the bone marrow you give life while being alive; for me it was beautiful! What struck him was her immense availability, she didn't feel like an accomplished person and always had the desire to help others." A few years later, in 2013, the disease returned in a different but equally serious form: acute lymphoblastic leukemia; For her, Valeria begins a new battle, a new transplant and many treatments that lead her to overcome the disease this time too. Today she doesn't give up and continues to fight for many people who suffer the same pain as her and to contribute to research. He does this through writing and has already published three books – Ad un stepo dal cielo (2012), La forza della vita (2018) and Valeria, a gift from heaven (2022) – the proceeds of which go to scholarships for search.

Valeria's story is the story of a life that does not give up in the face of illness and suffering; it is the story of a life that does not end, but continues to help; it is the story of a life that never ends and of the availability of a man who continues to live in her for others.


Roberto Lerda
NP January 2024