Soccer player Alessandro Del Piero credited with helping girl awaken from coma

Professional athletes — or at least the modest ones — often remind us that they are not heroes. Firefighters, policemen and policewomen, and doctors are the real heroes. At the moment, the Scalise family may disagree. Giada Scalise is a 12-year-old girl who suffered a brain hemorrhage and went into a coma on Jan. 22 while watching a Juventus match on television. Her family believes a video message from Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero helped her overcome her condition.

After two weeks without improvement, the Scalise family asked Del Piero if he would record a video message that they could play for their daughter. The night the message was played for Giada, her father says she began to overcome her coma.

“That night (after listening to the message) something special happened,” Giada’s father Francesco said according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. “First she moved her hand and then after a few hours she called out ‘mamma.’ Then after about 24 hours she talked and asked for an ice-cream.”

Del Piero’s message said the following: “Hello Giada, I’m Alessandro Del Piero. I hope you can wake up as soon as possible to watch lots of our and my games, to come and see us and, above all, get to know each other.”

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Del Piero is a hero to the Scalise family. Whether it was a natural occurrence or the result of a message from her favorite player, the Scalises are fortunate enough to have their daughter back.

H/T Dirty Tackle