Advertisement

Suddenly paralyzed, Edmonton piano teacher fights to walk and play music again

A teacher from the Giovanni School of Music in Edmonton is hopeful that he can walk and play music again after he learned he has a cavernoma, a rare malformation of his spinal cord vessels.

One morning in April this year, Riccardo Baldini woke up and couldn't feel his legs. He was taken to the University of Alberta Hospital and underwent a four-hour surgery. Doctors told him he had a cavernoma, which was bleeding and causing his body to be paralyzed from the chest down.

Baldini, 25, said it's hard to believe how his life changed that day.

He's now classified as a T5 paraplegic, according to the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury. He can move his arms and hands, but not his legs.

Riccardo's journey − SCI recovery GoFundMe
Riccardo's journey − SCI recovery GoFundMe

"You want to remember how walking was because over time you can forget this and it's painful trying to remember, because you remember that you don't have it, but it gives you that hope," Baldini said.

He said he's hopeful that one day he can walk and play music again.

"I really believe that and I'm fighting toward that direction," he said. "You keep going forward and try to recover as much as you can. It's difficult psychologically but I'm trying to manage."

Baldini said the cavernoma might bleed again, and in that case, he would need another operation.

"It's a danger for me," he said.

Music as a 'first language'

Baldini's learned how to play piano when he was five; his father taught him.

"It's something I carried all my life. I learned first to read notes, it's kind of my first language," he said.

He was teaching piano for two years at the Giovanni School of Music before becoming paralyzed. His students ranged from five to 50 years old.

You keep going forward and try to recover as much as you can. It's difficult psychologically but I'm trying to manage. - Riccardo Baldini

Pamela Lintick, director of the Giovanni school, said Baldini is a reliable, fun and patient teacher.

"He's already got students who are anxious to have him back," said Lintick. "I told him he would definitely have a job here anytime he wants it back."

Baldini is planning to teach again in September.

He also wants to resume studying for his master's degree in forestry at the University of Alberta. He started last September and wants to finish it next year.

His friends and family are raising money for his recovery expenses online, through GoFundMe. Their goal is $40,000 to fund his rehabilitation sessions, a lightweight wheelchair, medical equipment, home modifications and a paraplegic piano device that would allow him to activate the pedals with his mouth.

So far, the fundraising effort has raised more than $17,000.

"It's been crazy. I didn't expect so much help and energy from all around the world. I can feel the energy coming to me and that's something that's so powerful," Baldini said.

"It makes me believe even more. I'm so thankful for that."