Letizia Milesi

After two years, Letizia Milesi, a 19-year-old from Roncobello, a small mountain village in the province of Bergamo in northern Italy, finally found hope that she would walk and see again.  

In October 2017, Letizia lost her balance and fell off a bus, landing forcefully on her back. “Immediately, I felt constant pain in the upper part of my neck,” Letizia said. Her symptoms progressively worsened over the years. She became blind in her right eye, lost sensation in the right half of her body and suffered from bladder and bowel dysfunction.

Letizia and her family were struggling to find an answer from medical professionals near them. “In Italy, they never gave me a precise reason why doctors didn’t perform the surgery,” Letizia said. “They were always very evasive.”

Forced to broaden their search, the family was ultimately introduced to Methodist Hospital Northeast’s Medical Director for Neurosurgery, Dr. Osama Ahmed. Through his commitment to finding Letizia a promising solution, Dr. Ahmed recommended a C1-C2 fusion, a surgical procedure targeting the back of the cervical spine and fusing the dislocated vertebrae. “Due to the complexity of the injury and the patient’s age, several spine surgeons in Letizia’s country were unwilling to help her. There are several important structures in this area that are at risk of injury during surgery,” said Dr. Ahmed.

The surgery was scheduled for Oct. 28, 2019, which was going to be Letizia’s first visit to the U.S. “When I found out that I had to go to America for the surgery, I was very scared, but at the same time, I was hopeful. Doctors gave me a perspective of a possible recovery,” Letizia said.

The surgery was successful and she immediately felt improvements. Each day, Letizia gains movement in her right arm and leg. “The impact the procedure had on my life has been revolutionary. It allowed me to live, walk and be happy again,” Letizia said. “Methodist Hospital Northeast is a big family and the writing on the wall ‘May all who enter as guests, leave as friends’ is extremely true. The whole staff, nurses and doctors have taken care of me in a professional and familial way. Of course I would recommend the hospital — we had a gift, and it can’t just be ours.”

Since returning to Italy, Letizia partnered with her sister and mother to start a non-profit organization called "Sulle ali di un sogno onlus" to share her story and help other people in Italy who may be struggling to find a medical solution.