Leandro Castan has described the ordeal of going through brain surgery and coming back to training for Roma, amid fear of cancer and death.
The defender has missed almost the entirety of the season after an abnormal cluster of blood cells, known as a cavernoma, was found in his brain and had to be removed through surgery.
In a long interview with Il Tempo, he described his terrible experience in detail.
Leandro Castan has described the ordeal of going through brain surgery and coming back to training for Roma, amid fear of cancer and death.
The defender has missed almost the entirety of the season after an abnormal cluster of blood cells, known as a cavernoma, was found in his brain and had to be removed through surgery.
In a long interview with Il Tempo, he described his terrible experience in detail.
“In the first half of the game against Empoli [September 13, 2014] I felt pain in my left leg and I had to stop,” said the Brazilian.
“That evening my head was spinning. I went to bed as I thought I was tired but the next day my head was still the same.
“I called Roma's doctor who took me to the optician. My eyesight was fine, so I had an MRI and that's when they discovered that I was carrying a foreign body in my brain, as big as a strawberry.
“They kept me at the Campus Biomedico for one week where the doctors studied my condition. I think they understood everything in the space of one or two weeks. They ruled out cancer and other serious diseases right away, but it took two months before a radiologist told me what was wrong with me.”
Castan was asked whether he was scared while waiting for a diagnosis, and he has no qualms in admitting that he was.
“There was a lot of fear. The doctors assured me that I didn't have cancer, but people were writing that on the internet, whilst supporters asked me that question directly on the social networks.
“Everybody kept saying this bad word and I thought: 'Oh my God, I'm dying'. So one day I gathered round my father, my wife and the doctors to know the truth. I said: 'If I have a tumour then tell me, because I'm going crazy and you're keeping something from me'.
“That's when they confirmed that I didn't have a tumour, and the radiologist clarified everything for me.
“The day before my surgery was the most difficult. I tried making light of it but I was very nervous. I asked the surgeon, Giulio Maira, if I could have a McDonald's. If this was going to be my last supper, at least I was going to enjoy it!
“Early next morning, when I was on the bed to go to the surgery room, I glanced at my family and everyone was in tears. The following 10 minutes were awful. I was alone and scared and I was waiting. I'll never forget that.”
The 28-year-old relates that the challenges were not over when he woke up either.
“I had problems with the whole left side of my body. If I turned over on that side, my vision was blurred. Once I was up on my feet I had to learn how to walk again, then how to run.
“My right leg worked just fine, but the left one didn't. I had to concentrate in order to move it. I'd been warned of that before, but fortunately there was no permanent damage and everything went back to normal.”