today (in pictures)

perfect timing

My good friends Ryan and Sarah O'Connor arrived in Rome on Wednesday night, which was perfect timing for me to get to come to Rome and spend time with them. I had a visit on Thursday morning scheduled at the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Mendel Institute (for medical genetics) in Rome, and also have an appointment to visit Sacre Cuore medical school and two Catholic Hospitals in Rome(Gemelli and Bambino Gesu) on Monday. In between all this, we are having a great time exploring Italy! Today we made a day trip to Pompeii, and Sunday will be heading to Florence. The pictures are a sampling of some of the events of the past few days. I want to write more and explain everything, but I should get to bed because it's about 2am here and we have a big day planned for tomorrow too. I will give the explanations of what's what soon... have a great day!!

a special day

My good friend Amy commented on my last post that this seems to good to be true. She is right!! My heart is so full & I love this place so, so much. It is an amazing experience to wake up and live each day knowing that it is a concrete answer to a prayer. The blessings have been so extravagant this summer, and only God knows why.

Today was a very special day. Dr. Murgo arranged for a meeting with Dr. Gusso, who was the very first medical director of the hospital, chosen by Padre Pio himself. Dr. Gusso is a beautiful man. He shared with me some of his memories, his wisdom, and his great love for Padre Pio. This all was a very special blessing. I wrote down what he said nearly word for word, and am looking forward to the ways I might be able to share these experiences with others. That is a prayer of mine as the summer moves along because I know that these experiences aren't just for me.

Standing between representatives of the past and the present of this great hospital, Dr. Murgo and Dr. Gusso

Dr. Murgo is an absolutely wonderful person, and is the one who so graciously extended the invitation for me to come to the hospital this summer. I had heard about the hospital and had a very strong desire to spend the summer here. I searched online and his was the address that I was able to find. I sent him an e-mail on February 3rd and on February 4th I received his reponse:

Dear Nicole,
I’m pleased for your letter in which you say that is your hope to come in Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza... I think that you will be able to come here and see our way of work. You must ask an authorization to the General director of the Hospital and to the Sanitary Director, in which you indicate the period and the Unit that you want to attend... I will be happy to have you in my Unit (you can ask it). The website of the hospital is: www.operapadrepio.it.
Ok, good luck, let me know every thing.
By, Roberto Murgo

So it began!! It's hard to believe that was just 5 months ago, and it's amazing to me how everything worked out for writing the project proposal, receiving funding from Pitt, etc. Wow. I am truly in awe. What are the chances of all of this happening?? Finding an e-mail address for a doctor who not only happens to speak English, but also has a heart of gold and generosity beyond compare. He and his wife Elvira told me the day that I arrived that they wanted to host me as if I were their own daughter. They have given me the most lovely little apartment to live in right by the hospital, and have been so wonderful to me. I truly don't know how to thank them. I will be grateful to this good man for the rest of my life!! If you would like to, please help me thank him by saying a prayer in thanksgiving for him and his wife. Thank you!

This is the hallway of the thoracic surgery unit. At this statue of Our Lady the patients gather to pray the rosary each evening.

Here are a few more pictures from the hospital. The statue is at the main entry, at the top of the first main staircase. The posters and signs are typical of the types of things you see walking through the hospital.

"Totus Tuus" was Pope John Paul II's apostolic motto. It means "totally yours."

"Padre Pio bless always the hearts, hands and minds of those who work in your 'home'."

weekend in pictures

This was a back-to-back-to-back beach weekend with Claudia and Francesco and some of their friends. Friday and Saturday we went to Mattinata, and on Sunday we went to a beach a little north of Mattinata on the way to Vieste. It was beautiful! The following photos are from this beach. Basically, there are about 5-10 meters (at most) of little pebbles that separate the edge of the mountain from the sea. It is spectacular!!!

There are caves along some parts where the mountain directly touches the sea.

After the day at the beach on Sunday we went to mass at Francesco and Claudia's parish, San Guisseppe (Saint Joesph). Francesco plays the organ and helps lead the choir-- so talented!! A highlight for me was meeting Franceso's family and having dinner with them after mass. It was such a treat!! I've mentioned what an angel Francesco is, and his parents and sister (I wasn't able to meet his brother, but I'm sure he's great too) are just as wonderful. What an awesome family!!

Francesco's sister Anna, his father Marco, mother Dora, me, Francesco, and his cousin (also) Francesco.

This weekend I also had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Antonio Trotto. Mr. Trotta was a nurse at the hospital for many years, and was one of the several nurses who helped take care of Padre Pio when he was ill. Mr. Trotta's son Salvatore works at the hospital as well, and has become one of my friends. Salvatore also took me on a wonderful tour of the new church dedicated to Saint Pio, which I will post pictures of soon.

I instantly liked Mr. Trotta the moment I met him. He has a very wonderful spirit and immediately extended the warmest kindness to me. (Mom and Dad, if you want to visit San Giovanni Rotondo, he wants you to stay at his house!) He also suggested several timss that I should just stay in San Giovanni Rotondo, and not go back to the US. I explained that I need to finish school, to which he answered, "Well then after you can come back and work at the hospital!"

Here we are in a picture together-- Mr. Trotta, me and Salvatore. I love the pink shirt.

Going for a pizza with Marco (works as a tour guide here), Francesco and Salvatore.

Time for bed... more soon. In the meantime have a wonderful day, and God bless you!

i could get used to this!

Yesterday after work Francesco and Claudia picked me up for a trip to Mattinata-- a nearby town about 30 minutes from here on the Adriatic Sea. So beautiful!!! The best part about the day... they asked me if I want to come back with them today (Saturday). As I titled the post, I could definitely get used to this & if you don't see me back in Pittsburgh in August, you'll know where to find me :-)

Francesco and Claudia are two of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet.

I also want to give a special thanks to Dr. DiCorcia and the wonderful staff of the pulmonology department at the hospital. Dr. DiCorcia has worked at the hospital for 30 years and invited me to spend the morning with him, which made for another good experience here at the hospital.

The pulmonology staff

Dr. DiCorcia wanted me to get to meet his family and invited me to have an AMAZING home cooked lunch with them at their home. I got to meet his wife Micaela (who works at the hospital as well helping to direct all of the continuing education programs and conferences ), his 18 year old daughter Roberta and his 2 year old son Emanuele. (They have an older daughter away at school right now too.) They are a beautiful family! We ate pasta with a delicious homemade sauce and an eggplant dish that was one of the best things that I have ever eaten. Thank you so much Dr. and Mrs. DiCorcia! I am sad that I forgot to take a picture with the family, but if I see them again before I leave, I will be sure to take a photo.


When I got home from the beach I made myself a little pizza... fresh tomatoes, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese. It's definitely not as good as Mrs. Rizzi's pizza recipe, but I was happy with it. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I am looking forward to heading back to the beach today. I hope you all are having a good weekend!

ps. My e-mail isn't working for some reason this morning. The internet is working, but not e-mail, so if you've sent a note I hope it will be working again soon.

a few more units visited...

Welcome to "La Scuola Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza." This is the school that is part of the pediatric oncology unit. Needless to say, it is a very special place.


The school is run by this wonderful women, Cinzia Patrizio. The children love her. After spending about 5 minutes with her, it is very easy to see why! She has a huge heart, and is very sensitive of the children and their needs. She is perfect for the job.


In addition to showing me the school she also took me around the entire unit. I think that I met at least 2 or 3 nurses and a few doctors as well who all immediately said that it is the best unit in the hospital. One thing is for sure... the people I met love their work because they love the children entrusted to their care. It was beautiful to see.



Later in the afternoon I spent a few hours with Dr. Mangiacotti in the radiology unit. The unit has all of the most modern equipment and technologies & I especially liked the voice-recognition dictation system. The computers have been programmed to recognize the doctors' voices, so the doctors can dictate radiology results into microphones attached to computers that instantly type whatever they say. Amazing!

Here I am with Dr. Mangiacotti (on the left) and Donato, the head technician in the unit.

Donato shared a few stories about Padre Pio, including receiving communion from him and serving mass for him as an altar boy. He also was very excited to show me this picture of when he met Mother Teresa when she visited San Giovanni Rotondo.


Yesterday I spent the day with Dr. Murgo, the head of the breast cancer surgery unit (and my mentor for my project this summer) and was able to observe his surgeries. I will write more about Dr. Murgo soon (and get a picture of him too), but for now, I just wish to say how thankful I am to him for inviting me to come to the hospital this summer!! Here I am getting ready to observe his surgery & I thought my mom might like to see this picture.

Have a great day everyone!!