So much has happened after only one week. Jet lag was definitely a problem on Saturday,
May 19, after an overnight flight from Dulles to Munich to Turin. Our driver, Roberto, brought us from Turin
airport to the Hotel Europa in Alessandria where we were warmly greeted by District
2030 GSE Chair Bart Berello. Joining him
were Luigi Frati (Alessandria RC) and Silvia Miglietta (Vercelli RC). It was very helpful to have an opportunity to
meet and discuss the plans for our week in Alessandria and surrounding
cities.
My initial vocational experience was unforgettable. I spent the morning at the Azienda
Ospedaliera Nazionale with Alessandria RC members Alberto Peracchio, Director of
Safety & Technology, and Carlo Poggio, who acted as interpreter. After changing into OR garb, we were welcomed
into an operating room by well-known surgeon Dr. Giuseppe Spinoglio (also a
Rotarian) to watch him perform robot surgery using the da Vinci surgical
system. To my surprise, Dr. Spinoglio
invited me to sit down at the da Vinci console and view the high-resolution 3D
image of the surgical site, which was inside the patient’s abdomen. Then he told me to place my fingers into the
hand tools that allow the surgeon to make precise micro-movements with the
instruments. I couldn’t believe that I
was actually moving the instruments -- very slightly and very carefully!! I was very careful not to move my feet,
because there are pedals that control clipping, cautery, etc. After a few minutes, I was glad to turn the
surgery back over to Dr. Spinoglio. When
Alberto informed him that it was time for us to leave, Dr. Spinoglio got up and
posed with us for pictures.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the pictures yet (Alberto is sending via email). The picture below is from a meeting today (Sat., 5/26) where I also had the honor of meeting Italy's Minister of Health, Renato Balduzzi, a member of the RC of Alessandria (waiting on email of that photo too).
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