Mirabello It was the summer of 2013 when a person on theA1 near Parma thought it best to stop the car in the middle of the road at night, a vehicle then hit by the one in which the Ruggeri family from Chiesanuova were traveling: father Roberto, mother Roberta Giorgi (owner of a pharmacy in Mirabello) and the three daughters Federica, Alessandra and Caterina. The latter, who was just 9 years old, suffered the most serious consequences, ending up spending a year at the San Giorgio rehabilitation center and then another ten months in a day hospital, before returning home with serious handicaps but strong and always with a smile, ready to new adventures. Unfortunately, on Sunday she died of a sudden cardiac arrest in her grandparents’ house in Canove, near Asiago, where she was on vacation. A sudden, unexpected, painful death, but one that does not take away from the family the joy of having lived with their beloved daughter and younger sister. «It is an honor and a pride to remember her – mother Roberta tells us -. Caterina was saved in 2013 thanks to the resuscitation group of Parma, then thanks to the staff of San Giorgio. Caterina belongs to all those who helped her live these 11 years with a smile, always».
The tragedy
“Cate was on vacation with my husband in Canove, a small town where everyone knows her. I work at the moment and I join them on the weekend. On Sunday after lunch she said goodbye to everyone and went to rest before horse lessonher passion for eight years now. After the women’s national volleyball match, I said I would go to Asiago for a ride, then join the others at the equestrian center and stay together until dinner, but Cate never woke up. 118 also arrived but she was dead.
Full life
But the 20-year-old’s family knows they have had a second chance, even if too short. «I am a bit cynical in saying that even a disabled person can do many beautiful things, be an example and an incentive for everyone, give smiles and vitality for everything. We should only learn from her: in these 11 years a new path of life began, she gave the directions, encouraged or slowed down, she had blossomed as much as possible, without diversity and without setting limits. It has been a tiring, painful and humiliating journey, the world is not ready to welcome these people, I say this firmly. We don’t need laws, only love and common sense, after all we are all limited, but if everyone sees only that… Let’s try to spend our talents, she had some. Before the accident he played basketball in Mirabello and he did hip hop in Poggio Renatico. Right at the rehabilitation center we had the best birthday of her life, it was February 12, 2014 and to celebrate her there was her entire elementary school class, her basketball team and the hip hop group led by Annalisa put on a show. There she was put back “on track” and she lived with love. Of course, there were bad days, of anguish, terror, tragedy, not knowing where to bang her head, but also beautiful days, 11 years of concentration of emotions unrepeatable in a lifetime”. Many are expressing their condolences to the family of the 20-year-old. “Caterina has left only smiles, I am hearing incredible testimonies, they all connect to this thing: she smiled in the morning saying good morning and in the evening when he said goodnight. He could have sent everyone to hell, instead he gave everyone a boost. And let’s dispel this myth of the world of handicaps, are all able-bodied people beautiful?
In her second life Caterina did many things, starting from her studies: «She obtained a professional diploma in commercial services with a focus on tourism in Bondeno, then another two years with a high school diploma in an environment that welcomed her in a wonderful way and supported her, especially in Covid period; for her and for us it was a great recognition. She was very active, she swam with the Vigarano canoe group, she collaborated with the Specchio association and with Villa Imoletta, she was supposed to play on August 21st at the Buskers with Musica Senza Confini (she organizes music courses for disabled people in Ferrara, ed.) and she had come into contact with the Rulli Frulli of Finale Emilia, she was a volunteer at the project “Roll food” and in the evening he welcomed people at the restaurant. He was supposed to start again in September…». The family did not want epitaphs, too much pain to see them. The funeral is Saturday at 9:30 in the church in Mirabello.