ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Roberto D'Angelo + Francesca Fedeli - Parents
Roberto D'Angelo and Francesca Fedeli created the social enterprise FightTheStroke.org to open up a dialogue about the devastating effects of strokes at a young age. This issue is important to them for a simple reason: because they've been through it themselves with their son Mario.

Why you should listen

When Roberto D'Angelo and Francesca Fedeli’s son, Mario, was just 10 days old, he was diagnosed as having had a perinatal stroke in the right side of his brain, which left him unable to move the left side of his body. Through mirror neuron rehabilitation, Mario is now 5 years old and has greatly improved motion.

The tech-savvy couple founded FightTheStroke.org to gather and share the experiences of families who have been affected by all types of infant and childhood strokes. The social movement wants to open up a dialogue about the devastating effects of this traumatic event, advocating for young stroke survivors and using technology and open medicine as enablers for their better future. Together, as a family, they’re promoting the awareness of this story as motivational speakers at events like TED, they're proud ambassaros of TEDMED in Italy and promoters of the first Medicine Hackathon in Italy, aimed to regroup the leading experts on Medicine and Innovation. Roberto is Director for Online Learning at Microsoft Italy, while Francesca currently focuses her management expertise in the FightTheStroke.org project, and they are developing an innovative rehabilitation platform based on Mirror Neurons. Francesca also acts as a member of various Board of Patients Associations, became an Eisenhower Fellow in 2014 and the first Ashoka Fellow in Italy in 2015.

 

More profile about the speaker
Roberto D'Angelo + Francesca Fedeli | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2013

Roberto D'Angelo + Francesca Fedeli: In our baby's illness, a life lesson

I vores babys sygdom, en livslektion

Filmed:
1,239,223 views

Roberto D'Angelo and Francesca Fedeli troede deres lille dreng Mario var rask -- indtil de fandt ud af, da han var 10 dage gammel, at han havde haft et perinatalt slagtilfælde. Mens Mario ikke var i stand til at styre den venstre side af sin krop, kæmpede de med svære spørgsmål: Ville han være "normal?" Kunne han få et fuldt liv? Den gribende historie om forældre der bliver konfronteret med deres frygt -- og hvordan de vendte dem om.
- Parents
Roberto D'Angelo and Francesca Fedeli created the social enterprise FightTheStroke.org to open up a dialogue about the devastating effects of strokes at a young age. This issue is important to them for a simple reason: because they've been through it themselves with their son Mario. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
FrancescaFrancesca FedeliFedeli: CiaoCiao.
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Francesca Fedeli: Ciao.
00:15
So he's MarioMario. He's our sonsøn.
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Her er Mario. Han er vores søn.
00:18
He was bornFødt two and a halfhalvt yearsflere år agosiden,
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Han blev født for to og et halvt år siden,
00:21
and I had a prettysmuk toughsej pregnancygraviditet
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og jeg havde en temmelig hård graviditet
00:25
because I had to stayBliv still in a bedseng for, like, eightotte monthsmåneder.
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fordi jeg skulle ligge stille i sengen i noget der lignede otte måneder.
00:29
But in the endende everything seemedsyntes to be underunder controlkontrollere.
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Men til slut lod det til at der var styr på det hele.
00:32
So he got the right weightvægt at birthfødsel.
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Han havde den rette vægt ved fødsel.
00:35
He got the right ApgarApgar indexindeks.
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Han havde det rette Apgar indeks.
00:37
So we were prettysmuk reassuredberoliget by this.
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Det blev vi beroliget af.
00:40
But at the endende, 10 daysdage latersenere after he was bornFødt,
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Men i sidste ende, 10 dage efter han blev født,
00:47
we discoveredopdaget that he had a strokeslag.
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opdagede vi at han havde haft et slagtilfælde.
00:49
As you mightmagt know,
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Som I måske ved,
00:51
a strokeslag is a brainhjerne injuryskade.
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er et slagtilfælde en hjerneskade.
00:54
A perinatalperinatal strokeslag could be something
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Et perinatal slagtilfælde kunne være noget
00:56
that can happenske duringi løbet af the nineni monthsmåneder of pregnancygraviditet
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der kan ske under de ni måneders graviditet
01:00
or just suddenlypludselig after the birthfødsel,
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eller umiddelbart efter fødslen,
01:03
and in his casetilfælde, as you can see,
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og i dette tilfælde, som I kan se,
01:06
the right parten del of his brainhjerne has gonevæk.
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er den højre del af hans hjerne væk.
01:10
So the effecteffekt that this strokeslag could have on Mario'sMarios bodylegeme
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Den påvirkning dette kunne have på Marios krop
01:15
could be the factfaktum that he couldn'tkunne ikke be ablei stand to controlkontrollere
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kunne være at han ikke var i stand til at kontrollere
01:19
the left sideside of his bodylegeme.
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den venstre side af kroppen.
01:21
Just imagineforestille, if you have a computercomputer and a printerprinter
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Forestil jer, hvis man har en computer og en printer
01:25
and you want to transmittransmittere, to inputinput to printPrint out a documentdokument,
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og man vil sende, at indlæse og printe et dokument,
01:29
but the printerprinter doesn't have the right drivesdrev,
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men printeren har ikke de rigtige styreprogrammer,
01:33
so the samesamme is for MarioMario.
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og det samme gælder for Mario.
01:36
It's just like, he would like to movebevæge sig his left sideside
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Det er ligesom, han gerne ville bevæge den venstre side
01:39
of his bodylegeme, but he's not ablei stand to transmittransmittere the right inputinput
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af hans krop, men han ikke er i stand til at sende det rigtige input
01:43
to movebevæge sig his left armarm and left legBen.
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til at flytte sin venstre arm og sit venstre ben.
01:48
So life had to changelave om.
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Så livet skulle ændre sig.
01:50
We neededhavde brug for to changelave om our scheduletidsplan.
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Vi skulle ændre vores skema.
01:52
We neededhavde brug for to changelave om the impactpåvirkning that this birthfødsel had
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Vi skulle ændre den påvirkning som denne fødsel havde
01:58
on our life.
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på vores liv.
02:00
RobertoRoberto D'AngeloD'Angelo: As you maykan imagineforestille,
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Roberto D'Angelo: Som I kan forestille jer,
02:02
unfortunatelydesværre, we were not readyparat.
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desværre, var vi ikke klar.
02:05
NobodyIngen taughtundervist us how to dealdel with suchsådan kindsformer of disabilitieshandicap,
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Ingen lærte os at håndtere denne slags invaliditet,
02:09
and as manymange questionsspørgsmål as possiblemuligt startedstartede
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og så mange spørgsmål som muligt startede
02:11
to come to our mindssind.
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at dukke op i vores sind.
02:13
And that has been really a toughsej time.
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Og det har virkelig været en hård tid.
02:16
QuestionsSpørgsmål, some basicsgrundlæggende, like, you know,
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Spørgsmål, nogle fundamentale, såsom, I ved,
02:18
why did this happenske to us?
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hvorfor skete det for os?
02:20
And what wentgik wrongforkert?
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Og hvad gik der galt?
02:22
Some more toughsej, like, really,
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Nogle mere barske, som, i virkeligheden,
02:25
what will be the impactpåvirkning on Mario'sMarios life?
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hvad vil påvirkningen være på Marios liv?
02:27
I mean, at the endende, will he be ablei stand to work?
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Jeg mener, i sidste ende, vil han være i stand til at arbejde?
02:28
Will he be ablei stand to be normalnormal?
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Vil han være i stand til at være normal?
02:30
And, you know, as a parentforælder, especiallyisær for the first time,
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Og, I ved, som en forælder, specielt for første gang,
02:33
why is he not going to be better than us?
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hvorfor bliver han ikke bedre end os?
02:37
And this, indeedJa, really is toughsej to say,
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Og dette er, bestemt, hårdt at sige,
02:40
but a few monthsmåneder latersenere, we realizedgik op for that
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men et par måneder senere, blev vi klar over at
02:43
we were really feelingfølelse like a failurefiasko.
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vi virkelig følte os som en fiasko.
02:46
I mean, the only realægte productprodukt of our life,
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Jeg mener, det eneste virkelige produkt af vores liv,
02:49
at the endende, was a failurefiasko.
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i sidste ende, var en fiasko.
02:51
And you know, it was not a failurefiasko for ourselvesos selv in itselfsig selv,
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Og I ved, det var ikke en fiasko for os selv i sig selv,
02:57
but it was a failurefiasko that will impactpåvirkning his fullfuld life.
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men det var en fiasko der ville påvirke hele hans liv.
03:02
HonestlyHelt ærligt, we wentgik down.
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Ærlig talt, gik vi ned.
03:03
I mean we wentgik really down, but at the endende,
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Jeg mener vi gik virkelig ned, men i sidste ende,
03:07
we startedstartede to look at him,
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begyndte vi at kigge på ham,
03:09
and we said, we have to reactreagere.
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og vi sagde, vi skal reagere.
03:11
So immediatelymed det samme, as FrancescaFrancesca said, we changedændret our life.
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Med det samme, som Francesca sagde, ændrede vi vores liv.
03:14
We startedstartede physiotherapyFysioterapi, we startedstartede the rehabilitationrehabilitering,
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Vi begyndte på fysioterapi, vi begyndte genoptræningen,
03:17
and one of the pathsstier that we were followingfølge
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og en af de veje vi valgte at gå
03:19
in termsbetingelser of rehabilitationrehabilitering is the mirrorspejl neuronsneuroner pilotpilot.
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med hensyn til genoptræning er spejlneuronpiloten.
03:22
BasicallyDybest set, we spentbrugt monthsmåneder doing this with MarioMario.
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Dybest set, brugte vi måneder på dette med Mario.
03:26
You have an objectobjekt, and we showedviste him
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Man har en genstand, og vi viste ham
03:29
how to grabtag fat the objectobjekt.
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hvordan man tager fat i genstanden.
03:31
Now, the theoryteori of mirrorspejl neuronsneuroner simplyganske enkelt sayssiger
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Teorien om spejl neuroner siger simpelt sagt,
03:34
that in your brainshjerner, exactlyNemlig now, as you watch me doing this,
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at i ens hjerne, i dette øjeblik, som I ser på at jeg gøre dette,
03:38
you are activatingaktivering exactlyNemlig the samesamme neuronsneuroner
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aktiverer I præcis de samme neuroner
03:40
as if you do the actionshandlinger.
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som hvis I selv udførte tingene.
03:44
It looksudseende like this is the leadingførende edgekant in termsbetingelser of rehabilitationrehabilitering.
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Det ser ud til at dette er forkanten med hensyn til genoptræning.
03:48
But one day we foundfundet that MarioMario
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Men en dag bemærkede vi at Mario
03:51
was not looking at our handhånd.
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ikke kiggede på vores hånd.
03:55
He was looking at us.
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Han kiggede på os.
03:57
We were his mirrorspejl.
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Vi var hans spejl.
04:00
And the problemproblem, as you mightmagt feel,
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Og problemet, som I måske føler,
04:02
is that we were down, we were depresseddeprimeret,
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er at vi var nede, vi var deprimerede,
04:04
we were looking at him as a problemproblem,
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vi så på ham som et problem,
04:06
not as a sonsøn, not from a positivepositiv perspectiveperspektiv.
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ikke som en søn, ikke fra et positivt synspunkt.
04:11
And that day really changedændret our perspectiveperspektiv.
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Og den dag ændrede virkelig vores perspektiv.
04:14
We realizedgik op for that we had to becomeblive
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Vi blev klar over at vi skulle blive
04:18
a better mirrorspejl for MarioMario.
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et bedre spejl for Mario.
04:20
We restartedgenstartet from our strengthsstyrker,
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Vi startede på ny med vores styrker,
04:22
and at the samesamme time we restartedgenstartet from his strengthsstyrker.
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og på samme tid startede vi med vores styrker.
04:26
We stoppedholdt op looking at him as a problemproblem,
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Vi stoppede med at se på ham som et problem,
04:29
and we startedstartede to look at him as an opportunitylejlighed to improveforbedre.
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og vi begyndte at se på ham som en mulighed for at forbedre sig.
04:33
And really, this was the changelave om,
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Og i virkeligheden, var dette forandringen,
04:36
and from our sideside, we said,
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fra vores side, vi sagde,
04:39
"What are our strengthsstyrker that we really can bringtage med to MarioMario?"
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"Hvad er vores styrker som vi virkelig kan give videre til Mario?"
04:42
And we startedstartede from our passionslidenskaber.
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Og vi begyndte med vores passioner.
04:43
I mean, at the endende, my wifekone and myselfMig selv
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Jeg mener, i sidste ende, min kone og jeg
04:45
are quitetemmelig differentforskellige,
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er temmelig forskellige,
04:46
but we have manymange things in commonalmindelige.
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men vi har mange ting til fælles.
04:49
We love to travelrejse, we love musicmusik,
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Vi elsker at rejse, vi elsker musik,
04:51
we love to be in placessteder like this,
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vi elsker at være steder som dette,
04:53
and we startedstartede to bringtage med MarioMario with us
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og vi begyndte at tage Mario med os
04:55
just to showat vise to him the bestbedst things that we can showat vise to him.
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bare for at vise ham de bedste ting som vi kan vise ham.
04:59
This shortkort videovideo is from last weekuge.
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Denne korte video er fra sidste uge.
05:05
I am not sayingordsprog --
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Jeg siger ikke --
05:06
(ApplauseBifald) —
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(Bifald) --
05:08
I am not sayingordsprog it's a miraclemirakel. That's not the messagebesked,
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jeg siger ikke at det er et mirakel. Det er ikke budskabet,
05:11
because we are just at the beginningstarten of the pathsti.
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fordi vi er bare i begyndelsen af vores vej.
05:13
But we want to sharedel what was the keynøgle learninglæring,
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Men vi vil gerne dele det der var hovedlektionen,
05:17
the keynøgle learninglæring that MarioMario drovekørte to us,
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hovedlektionen som Mario drev os imod,
05:19
and it is to consideroverveje what you have as a giftgave
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og det er at se på hvad man har som talent
05:22
and not only what you missgå glip af,
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og ikke kun hvad man mangler,
05:26
and to consideroverveje what you missgå glip af just as an opportunitylejlighed.
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og at se på hvad man mangler som en mulighed.
05:30
And this is the messagebesked that we want to sharedel with you.
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Og dette er budskabet som vi vil dele med jer.
05:33
This is why we are here.
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Dette er grunden til vi er her.
05:37
MarioMario!
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Mario!
05:39
And this is why --
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Og det er grunden til --
05:40
(ApplauseBifald) —
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(Bifald) --
05:45
And this is why
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Og det er grunden til
05:50
we decidedbesluttede to sharedel the bestbedst mirrorspejl in the worldverden with him.
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vi besluttede at dele det bedste spejl i verden med ham.
05:56
And we thank you so much, all of you.
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Og vi takker jer meget, jer alle sammen.
05:59
FFFF: Thank you.
RDRD: Thank you. ByeFarvel.
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FF: Tak.
RD: Tak. Farvel.
06:01
(ApplauseBifald)
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(Bifald)
06:05
FFFF: Thank you. (ApplauseBifald)
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FF: Tak. (Bifald)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Roberto D'Angelo + Francesca Fedeli - Parents
Roberto D'Angelo and Francesca Fedeli created the social enterprise FightTheStroke.org to open up a dialogue about the devastating effects of strokes at a young age. This issue is important to them for a simple reason: because they've been through it themselves with their son Mario.

Why you should listen

When Roberto D'Angelo and Francesca Fedeli’s son, Mario, was just 10 days old, he was diagnosed as having had a perinatal stroke in the right side of his brain, which left him unable to move the left side of his body. Through mirror neuron rehabilitation, Mario is now 5 years old and has greatly improved motion.

The tech-savvy couple founded FightTheStroke.org to gather and share the experiences of families who have been affected by all types of infant and childhood strokes. The social movement wants to open up a dialogue about the devastating effects of this traumatic event, advocating for young stroke survivors and using technology and open medicine as enablers for their better future. Together, as a family, they’re promoting the awareness of this story as motivational speakers at events like TED, they're proud ambassaros of TEDMED in Italy and promoters of the first Medicine Hackathon in Italy, aimed to regroup the leading experts on Medicine and Innovation. Roberto is Director for Online Learning at Microsoft Italy, while Francesca currently focuses her management expertise in the FightTheStroke.org project, and they are developing an innovative rehabilitation platform based on Mirror Neurons. Francesca also acts as a member of various Board of Patients Associations, became an Eisenhower Fellow in 2014 and the first Ashoka Fellow in Italy in 2015.

 

More profile about the speaker
Roberto D'Angelo + Francesca Fedeli | Speaker | TED.com