Achille Polonara and the most difficult moment: the dramatic revelation

Achille Polonara is going through one of the toughest paths a person can face, turning a sudden diagnosis into a battle of physical and mental endurance. From the first symptoms initially mistaken for mononucleosis to a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, the basketball player from the Marche region has faced a treatment that was not easy, culminating in a bone marrow transplant performed in September. Subsequent complications, including a blood clot that put him in a coma, made recovery even more complex. Polonara wanted to recount his experience in an’interview with Corriere della Sera, even allowing himself a heavy revelation.

“I thought: that&#8217s enough, now I&#8217m going to throw myself out of the hospital window and get it over with – he admitted, explaining that his wife&#8217s presence at that precise moment was crucial -. Luckily Erika was there: you have to hold on for the family, for the children. But I felt my back was against the wall with ten behemoths holding you down. I wanted to disappear. But then I thought: it’s not fair for my children to grow up without a father, or to think that Dad didn’t at least try”.

Polonara further explained that she did not want to think about long-term goals but wanted to focus on the present: “I have never made any in my life, even less would I feel like making any now. I prefer to choose closer goals. The first one? Not to have recidivism” he said. The 34-year-old born in Ancona, now under contract with Dinamo Sassari, then wanted to thank the entire basketball world, which has crosswise shown him closeness even especially during and after the most difficult moment of all, the five days of coma.

“I saw very beautiful things, the banners of players from Baskonia, Zalgiris, Fenerbahce, from different Italian teams. The applause from fans, even opposing fans. So many people stop me in the street to know how I am, and this affection makes me very happy. Do they call me a warrior in Sassari?Yes, but I would like to specify something. I do care: For many people it seems like I did who knows what, but if you ask me what I did, I actually went into a coma and woke up. I see nothing heroic in it”.

Born Nov. 23, 1991, Achille Polonara has worn the undershirts of Stamura Ancona, Teramo, Varese, Reggio Emilia, Sassari, Baskonia, Fenerbahce, Efes, Zalgiris and Virtus Bologna in his career before re-signing with Dinamo. He also boasts 94 appearances with the national team, of which he was symbolically named captain during last November’s World Cup qualifiers.