“It was not a walk in the park, in Italy there is still a lot of anti-flag” – Corriere.it

“Of course I will be at the Venicemarathon on Sunday 23 October. I promised it. The guys in my group already know it, and these crazy “Sammy Runners” can’t wait to be all there first.” It’s his own way of reassuring friends and acquaintances (who would then be millions of people) about his health: It’s true that Sami Basu, a 26-year-old biologist from Vicenza, has been suffering from progeria (the cause of premature aging) for a few days. She has Covid, but she’s better now.

Can we say Sami?

“Of course. My heart test came back positive two days ago, but now I’m better off: It wasn’t a walk with a fever of 39 and a half, and given my heart surgery in 2019, many fear it involved the lungs. But, fortunately, my system held up. The immune system is good.

Will he be there at the next Venice Marathon?

“I couldn’t be there. I am very fond of racing. Then in Venice, in Veneto: But let’s be joking. I’m still a little tired, but I really hope to ignore myself this Saturday already.”

A frantic life, always present to present the initiatives of the Italian Progeria Sammy Basso Association: frankly, does it not seem right to imagine her immobile, in bed?

Instead it happened. I don’t even know how this happened. With schools, in this period, we are at a dead end: there were too many requests and we didn’t want to bother anyone… But, with Covid, you know, that’s how it goes ».

Unfortunately, the date with the “Festival CartaCarbone” in Treviso was missed, as it was supposed to be tomorrow, Thursday 13 October.

“I know it is. And I am very sorry: also because I wish I could have talked about what we do with our association.”

tell me…
“In Italy, Progeria is becoming more and more familiar with doctors and research is being conducted. Therapeutic drugs are getting closer and closer thanks to genetic engineering, which is no longer just science fiction.”

Once he ignores, what will he do?

“I have a lot of obligations. At the end of October, for example, I must return to the United States of America, to Boston, on the occasion of the most important meeting on Progeria, organized every two years by the world’s largest association dealing with my disease ».

Does that excite you?

“I will find many friends whom I have not seen for two years, before the outbreak of the epidemic: but the most important thing is that Italy comes in great numbers to the meeting, being the second country in the world, after use, according to the number of researchers of this disease ».

But is there anything that scares you?

“The period in which we live is changing rapidly….”

Are you referring to the war in Ukraine?

“Exactly. But, in general, what frightens me the most is to be helpless in the face of these events: do you know that if they asked me to go to Putin to try to stop the hostilities, I would leave today? It is clear that I do not represent anyone, only me, of course: but The way I am really annoys me because I haven’t tried.”

What else is bothering you?

“I am in the scientific world, as a patient and as a researcher: the thing that really goes with me is how easily pseudoscientific facts can be disseminated.”

what do you mean by that?

We’ve seen it with vaccines: until researchers were able to find a vaccine, they were seen as unable to find a solution; Then, when they were found, they were criticized for activating too quickly. Well, all this is simply in vain. ”

After her first trip to America, along Route 66, she published a book called Sammy’s Journey: Perhaps, after her next trip to Boston, she will still want to write…

“I don’t think so. Boston is going to be basically a science trip. But I have a book in my class for a while.”

A CV or something similar?

“Myths have always fascinated me. And this book in my drawer is halfway between myth and history: it talks about Antinor, the legendary founder of Padua and the ancestor of Venice. But the book is only planned and all written.”

Do you feel like a hero too?

“That’s the last thing I’d like to hear. Absolutely. Before the character (and unfortunately someone would probably see me that way too), there’s the guy Sami with his fears and doubts.”