Giovanna Spantigati

A sweet and smart golden retriever comes to greet me at the gate. I pet her, and she leans her head on my leg and I wonder why smart animals are always someone else's and not mine.

Here he is, Dede, coming on his wheelchair, a big smile and blue eyes like a plunge into the sea. His house is very bright, with a large living room and full length semicircular windows. On the couch, which seems to tell the stories of all the friends who have set there, a beautiful red cat dozes without even moving a whisker. "I beg your pardon, my home is a mess…" Dede pretends to be embarrassed and takes me to the kitchen. Mess? Not at all! This is a warm and cozy home! And I really like it, here I feel positive energy. Dede is the nickname of Andrea. Thanks to facebook, this fall, through the network of "friends of friends" I got to know him, or maybe it was the opposite.
I honestly do not remember.
Andrea Pedrana was born with a disability: achondroplasia (deficit in height). Over the years, his back has been giving him big problems and he has recently been operated in France, hoping to get rid of pain and to regain use of his legs.
Unfortunately it did not work. 12 days in coma, a dream that turned into a nightmare, 12 days of parallel life, then the return to real life. Pain did not go away, the disappointment was great and now he feels empty and without energy. But he never complains. His is simple observation. And there's a big difference. His face is not sad. In his eyes there is always the sea.

Andrea has written a novel, "The Home of Tolkien", published by Nutrimenti, co-written with Roberta Pellegrini. I felt he was a "great person" and I was so curious to know him that I shamelessly asked him to give me an appointment. I wanted to know about his story in order to tell it to readers.
Dede, who has broken thousands of rules, lived his life fully and at the best, told me this morning with flashes and flights of fancy, a small part of his 50 past years. The morning has flown, and I was so fascinated by this man that I forgot he is a disabled person with a life full of difficulties, frustrations and pain. A cigarette after another, he nervously shifted from one side to the other of the table with his wheelchair. He did not notice, but I smiled thinking that if he were standing he would have walked back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. He shows me the pictures of his beautiful wife, his 12 years-old son (born during his previous marriage; an angel face) and their travels around the world. Dede got joint custody of his son and he describes it as a "fantastic experience". "It's wonderful to play mother-role." And so he tells me that one day, while carrying his baby with a large scarf on his belly, he fell forward, but thanks to an athletic jump he managed to avoid a disaster. And many other daily life aspects which were difficult but not impossible, faced with a smile, with the luck of the brave. A life full of obstacles, but his will, his love for life prevent him from seeing the glass half empty. So his life becomes an exciting adventure story, full of different jobs, travels and funny episodes. I do not know what to ask, so I let him talk freely. Dede has a lot of projects, he is writing another book, he wants to produce television programs and has also projects related to disability. And I forget again his condition and his past.

The music that comes from his beautiful pc in the living room, a delicious coffee, a cigarette ... Dede does not play hard, he just faces problems "as a challenge.." Yet he decides to share with me a sad, bitter memory. When he was 6 years old his friends took him aside and said: "We do not want you anymore because you're small." And he ran to his mother, weeping, and embraced her asking for solace, but he realized his mother was deeply suffering, because she knew that this moment would come. "From that moment I decided not to speak of these things any longer." There are disabled people who decide to live their life playing the victim, proud to be the result of a cruel fate; there are those who live with anger, frustration and become selfish, insensitive and prefer to stay alone instead of sharing life with other people blaming them because they are normal. And then there are those who decide to face reality, problems, pain, their limits without feeling sorry for themselves all the time, not claiming they are proud, but simply living their life the way it is. And at that time this person becomes absolutely normal. Pain is not a white flag to wave. Frustrations must not generate rage, but energy and will to live. Dede takes me back to the front door. Outside, a cold gray November day in an anonymous Turin. Inside his house, the sunshine.
Dede: Andrea Pedrana.


Giovanna Spantigati