Former Italian deputy Alessandro Di Battista revealed that the serious health issue prompting his sudden admission to Cuba at the end of August was a cerebral edema caused by a tumor, for which he was later urgently operated on in Havana.
Di Battista spoke openly for the first time about his diagnosis during the program diMartedì, from the Italian network La7, after several weeks of uncertainty regarding the illness that kept him hospitalized on the island and initially forced him to postpone his return to Italy.
"I began to feel unwell primarily due to cerebral edema caused by the presence of a tumor that was detected in Cuba," he explained.
The former parliamentarian, 48 years old, was on the island conducting reports for Il Fatto Quotidiano and TVLoft when the symptoms began.
According to the account, the Cuban doctors quickly diagnosed the illness and implemented a treatment that reduced the cerebral edema, making surgical intervention possible.
"They removed almost the entire tumor, and now I will undergo treatments hoping they will be effective," Di Battista stated, adding that he is currently receiving medical follow-up in Italy.
"I was operated on with technologies that were used here 30 years ago."
Di Battista identified the Cuban neurosurgeon Marlon Ortiz as the one who performed the surgery and claimed that he saved his life.
The Italian stated that, upon returning to his country, specialists from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome informed him that he had undergone a highly complex surgery in Cuba.
At the same time, he described the severe material shortages that the doctors worked under.
"I was operated on with technologies that were used here 30 years ago, and yet, this neurosurgeon saved my life," he recounted.
Di Battista also confirmed that the Cuban doctor recently wrote to him to inform him that they were facing problems sterilizing the surgical instruments due to a lack of electricity.
His description of the conditions at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital included another detail: the lack of water.
"I was operated on in a hospital without water," he stated.
According to his account, after it became known in Cuba that the former Italian parliamentarian was hospitalized, citizens began bringing him buckets of water to the 19th floor so he could wash or use the bathroom.
"This is the reality", he insisted during the interview.
The new testimony clarifies a mystery that persisted for nearly a month.
Di Battista had been hospitalized in serious condition after experiencing a severe headache and sudden discomfort while in Santa Clara. He initially received care in that city and was later transferred to the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana. At that time, no diagnosis had been made public.
Two specialists from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome later traveled to Cuba to join the team that was caring for him. Di Battista himself expressed gratitude to the Cuban doctors, stating that they had been accurate in both the diagnosis and the choice of initial treatment.
His return to Italy was initially scheduled by air ambulance covered by his private travel insurance, but the transfer had to be suspended after a sudden deterioration while he was already en route to the airport.
On September 6, it was revealed that he had undergone emergency surgery at the Hermanos Ameijeiras, although the specifics of the procedure were not disclosed at that time.
Di Battista was finally able to return to Italy on September 12 in an air ambulance and continued his recovery at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. La7 reported that he was discharged on the 18th.
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