A gift even sweeter than his wine
Vital for critical care: The ‘Optiflow Nasal Oxygen Therapy’ delivering machine. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Wanting to help Sri Lankans in these times of COVID-19, 72-year-old Italian businessman and wine-maker, Renzo Montanari who considers Sri Lanka his second home makes a heartfelt gesture from across the seas
Weaned off the ventilator after undergoing surgery for the removal of an esophageal carcinoma at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), on Wednesday, a patient is breathing comfortably with the support of an ‘Optiflow Nasal Oxygen Therapy’ delivering machine.
“This patient is getting ‘nice, humidified (warm) oxygen’ through this machine,” says Critical Care Consultant Dr. Anthony Mendis of the NHSL’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), explaining that he underwent surgery for a cancer in the tube which links the throat to the stomach.
While on the path to recovery after surgery, this patient is oblivious to the fact that he is the first to benefit from this Optiflow Nasal Oxygen Therapy delivering machine after it was donated to the NHSL on January 29.
As the simple donation ceremony took place on January 29, the Italian donor’s thoughts would certainly have been on Sri Lanka which he considers his second home, even though he could not be present here physically.
The day of the ceremony was momentous for the country, for while a small but eminent group gathered without much fanfare to handover this machine vital for critically-ill patients, whether COVID-19 affected or not, the vaccine rollout for frontline workers battling the pandemic was also taking place.
The heartfelt gesture from across the seas in support of Sri Lankans – the donation of the Optiflow Nasal Oxygen Therapy delivering machine valued at over Rs. 1.2 million – came from 72-year-old Italian businessman and wine-maker, Renzo Montanari, based in Ravenna, north of Italy.
Falling in love with Sri Lanka when he first visited this country many decades ago, Mr. Montanari had made tangible efforts to support the people here by setting up a wine factory in Kalutara, importing the grape juice from Italy, for fermentation and bottling here. The wine is mostly marketed to tourist hotels.
From left: Dr. Anthony Mendis, Allegra Baistrocchi, Dr. A.M. Sebastiampillai, Dr. Kumara Wickramasinghe and Dr. Marie Fernando
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world bringing about stringent movement restrictions and put paid to Mr. Montanari’s regular visits to Sri Lanka, at least four times a year, he had wanted to show that he cares and has not forgotten the people here.
Looking into the possibility of donating a ventilator or an ICU bed, very early on in the pandemic, Mr. Montanari’s efforts had been unsuccessful as at that time the United States of America was buying up all the ventilators available in the world and China was using up all the ventilators that it was producing. It was then that he had picked the Optiflow Nasal Oxygen Therapy delivering machine and made arrangements to import it from New Zealand.
And so, this vital machine was handed over to the SICU. It is here that patients who undergo surgery are looked after, while two isolation units of the SICU are home to patients who test positive for COVID-19 and managed here until transferred to a COVID-19 Treatment Centre.
In Rome: Renzo Montanari with his wife Ortensia
With this donation, the SICU has four machines which are invaluable, said Dr. Mendis, detailing how these machines work – they can deliver up to 100% oxygen, depending on the patient’s need, with a wide flow range from 2-60 Litres/min., when compared to other oxygen systems.
He reiterates that they prefer to put patients who need 100% oxygen on these recently-designed Optiflow Nasal Oxygen Therapy machines rather than ventilators. It is the “machine of choice”, as a ventilator requires the insertion of an endotracheal tube which makes the patient more vulnerable to ventilator-associated pneumonia. Therefore, this machine is a value addition to the ICU or a ward.
Explaining that she is “humbled” to represent Mr. Montanari at the function, the Italian Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission, Allegra Baistrocchi, said how everyone thought he was crazy when he wanted to set up a wine factory in Kalutara. Nothing deterred him.
“He was also the first promoter of Sri Lanka to me before I took up my posting here,” she said, adding that from the time the pandemic began Mr. Montanari has been wanting to help
Sri Lanka because even though he is physcially there, his heart is here.
Pointing out that in a pandemic like this no one can say that there are adequate stocks in hospitals, the Deputy Director-General of the 3,431-bed NHSL, Dr. Kumara Wickramasinghe said that this donation is important and timely.
Those present at the ceremony included the Director of Montanari Wine in Sri Lanka, A.S.I. Arsekularatne; the Italian Embassy’s doctor Dr. A.M. Sebastiampillai who had been the coordinator of the donation; and NHSL’s Senior Consultant Anaesthetist Dr. Marie Fernando and Consultant Anaesthetist Dr. Hemantha Rajapakse.