Paulo Nespoli, astronaut and tumor: «I had a brain lymphoma | Interview

Superman stopped flying on November 28 last year. It all started with a lot of fatigue. Then routine tests, head CT scan. There was a stain. After three days, MRI recognizes the tumor. Biopsy gives him name and surname: Brain P lymphoma. To the astronaut from Verno Bryanza Spent 313 days in orbit, Two hours 36 minutes, begins a new journey, terrain, very difficult: first chemotherapy, rehabilitation in the middle begins to happen again, stem cell transplant in August. Apart from him there are four most valuable physicians with their teams: Alessandro Perrin and Antonio Silvani of Festa in Milan, Giuliano Jebelin of Oxologico Capitanio and Andres Jose Maria Ferry of San Rafael.

Today at 11 p.m. Palo Nespoli Returns to public speaking during Italian Technology Week in Turin. He has lost weight, walks slowly, and is constantly looking forward. He has hope for the future.

What did you think when the engineer, neurosurgeon announced the result of the biopsy?
“I admit I didn’t think much of it … I knew the doctor said there was a good chance of a cure, not a cure. So I replied: Let’s do everything we can.

Have you ever been afraid that you would not do it?
“No, never reach for it. But I may have underestimated the weight of the treatment.

What are the most difficult moments?
“Except at the beginning I did not understand what was going on. As soon as I found out about it, side effects related to the series of treatment began to occur. It may have been a difficult moment in the last 23 days of isolation at the last hospital for an auto transplant in San Rafale.

What did it look like to see her body change?

“I thought it would always be a passing thing. We have to be patient. At the end of this matter I will come back as before. Now I realize that I will not go back to the old state, but I think I have a good chance to return to my place.

What has given you the most strength in recent months?
“When I was training, I tried to use the same method I had used before with very difficult things. I mean, I didn’t think there was 100 to finish, but I still lived one day, lived a little bit, so don’t be afraid to look at what was in front of me.

Was he scared?
“Maybe not scared … but some days I would have wanted everything to be clear and precise like a tutorial and selection list, go to the next one when you do one. With this course, treatments, I never have. It’s a medical question, where are the commitments relative.

Were you scared to see your kids grow up?
“Growing kids makes you feel like time passes. I want to see them grow, but I know they can grow well if they’ve not there, so the important thing is they can do it.

Did he think about his travels on the International Space Station while he was in hospital?
“Yes and no, it’s not a fixed thought. Things that happened in my life, my youth, the military, the university in the United States, the activity of the ESA engineer, life in the space station ….

In recent weeks, the public has been in orbit with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. How do you feel when they call out astronauts?
“I always thought that space was an insult to the majority of the people on Earth in advance. I hope everyone has this weightless experience and wants to see our beautiful planet from there, because these are the things that will transform you inside. But you will not become an astronaut for crossing Fort Kerman.” If you buy the Milan-New York aircraft, you will not automatically become a jumbo jet pilot, you will be a passenger: you have to go long distances as a pilot, as well as go astronaut, so I oppose the definition used for those who exceed a certain height, without taking anything from the public to make this bold choice. .

Will she travel with Bezos or Musk?
“I have experience with both the shuttle and Soyuz. If one or the other gave me any chance I would take it blindly, in fact, I would be very grateful.

What if I tell her the future?
“I feel at the end of a tunnel, I look forward and see the light. I do not expect to return to normal, but with most of the skills I had before, continuing to travel, giving lectures, talking to children, encouraging them to do the impossible. I see these things in my future.