Speaker
Speaker Info
- Name
- Olimpia Barbarulo
- Organization
- Country
- The Netherlands
- Biography
- Olimpia Barbarulo is a coma survivor who shares her lived experience of recovery after critical illness, focusing on memory, emotional healing, and the long-term impact of intensive care. Three and a half years ago, she was hospitalized with brain malaria (Plasmodium falciparum), resulting in an eight days coma. While her physical recovery progressed relatively quickly, the psychological and emotional journey that followed required time, therapy, and deep personal reflection.
Photo
- Photo
Presentation Info
- Title
- Fragments
- Summary
- The stories shared by Olimpia's family after she awoke became a kind of “spoken diary,” helping her reconstruct a time she could not remember and shaping her understanding of the experience. About six months after hospitalization, she began writing poems and creating drawings alongside therapy sessions as a way to process complex emotions and fragmented memories. Over the course of two years, this personal practice gradually evolved into Fragments, a collection initially created for family and friends who had supported her throughout the journey, offering a safe space to gather shared memories and to communicate feelings that were difficult to express directly. Today, Olimpia is exploring ways to bring Fragments closer to other patients and to allow it to serve as a testimony of the ICU experience. In her talk, she reflects on storytelling, support systems, and creative expression as meaningful tools for navigating recovery and fostering deeper understanding between survivors, families, and caregivers.
- Keynote
- Presentation
- GFHEU Year
- 2026
Info
- Info