"Sometimes willpower can change things faster than we think" (Puccio).
Mary Cruz tells the story of her firstborn son in "Hello, I'm Puccio"—a brief, luminous life cut short by muscular dystrophy.
The book is serene, brimming with vitality. The author does not dwell on suffering: Puccio would not have allowed it! She traces his birth, the discovery of his illness, his bonds with siblings and others, his medical care, his involvement with UILDM, his path through school and into university, his travels, and the fulfillment of his theatrical dreams. Throughout, she weaves in his social commitment, his concern for others, his many initiatives, his active participation in UILDM, Telethon, and EAMDA (the European Association for Muscular Dystrophy). A normal life, lived by a remarkable young man in extraordinary circumstances. Puccio was gifted, intelligent, creative, determined. What made his life extraordinary was his refusal to let obstacles stop him from pursuing his goals. Reading the book, one often forgets the physical challenges he faced. The author includes many testimonies from those who knew him—friends, siblings, caregivers, people who crossed his path during his thirty-five years. These are loving, genuine testimonies, sometimes wry, always calm.
Woven through the narrative are conversations the mother holds with her son at his grave—simple, intimate exchanges about daily life and small things. Grief does not surface; instead, there is the closeness that remains between a mother and a son who still needs to be held, a son who does not seem to have gone away.
Puccio's is a life taken seriously, told with a serenity—even a lightness—that mirrors what he gave to those around him. His mother writes: "That same serenity and lightness that he transmitted, and with which we always lived together. This is not a story of a mother's sacrifice; neither mother nor father nor siblings ever sacrificed anything. We lived as anyone else would have done in our place, and we received from him great joy."
What makes Puccio's life remarkable is that it was not a constant battle against illness, but a life lived intensely by someone who was intelligent, cheerful, and outgoing—someone who, beyond the ordinary obstacles life places before us all, had to share his days with one more challenge.
Mary Cruz chose to tell her son's story not only to honor a person of distinctive character, but to show that dreams can be realized, that goals can be pursued in any circumstance through determination and conviction, as Puccio proved.
Rita Massi, 2011