Neurologist says Eluana Englaro is a healthy woman

Udine, Italy, Feb 9, 2009 / 10:50 am

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the neurologist of the Englaro family, Carlo Alberto Defanti, who is overseeing the withdrawal of food and water from Eluana Englaro, said the Italian woman is “healthy.” “She has never had any diseases and has no need for antibiotics.”

Eluana has become the “Terri Schiavo of Italy” in a case that has rocked the entire country and is being followed around the world. The association Scienza & Vita noted that it has been arguing for several months that Eluana “needs little, very little, to continue living.”

“For this reason,” the association stated, “it is even more incomprehensible that she has been removed from the care of the sisters at Lecco, who not long ago were taking care of her as a simple and genuine gesture of love.”

Likewise, Dr. Defanti said Eluana Englaro’s “physical state is optimal.  Probably, and I underscore the term, she has resistance that is above-average. From the moment of the suspension (of food and hydration which were withdrawn on February 6), 12-14 days will go by.”

He went on to say that Eluana “does not have any damaged or injured internal organs. The tests performed at the hospital in Lecco, before her departure (to the La Quiente Hospital in Udine where she is currently staying) were perfect.”

Dr. Defanti mentioned a specific episode in the health of Eluana from last October, when she was suffering from internal bleeding. “She got better on her own, without any external help. She had lost a lot of blood. She got better on her own, without transfusions, and this is a sign of good physical condition.” 

For these reasons, Scienza & Vita argued, “If then Eluana is a living and healthy person, it is even more necessary to support any attempt to stop the countdown in Udine” and begin providing her food and hydration again.