Roma legend Francesco Totti has visited a young woman in hospital who came out of a nine-month coma after listening to his voice on a video message.
Ilenia Matilli, a 19-year-old player for the Lazio women's team but also a supporter of local rivals Roma, had been in a coma since Dec. 15 when she was involved in a car accident that killed her friend.
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"Don't give up, you'll make it, we are all with you," Totti said in an encouraging video to Ilenia that was played to her. Ilenia's family said it aided her awakening.
"It [the meeting] was beautiful. It was touching for me and I hope it was more for her. I was very happy. She doesn't speak but we hugged and she started to cry [of joy]," Totti told reporters after Monday's visit to Rome's Gemelli hospital.
"Had I known that it [the recording] would help, I would have sent the video earlier! We will meet again once she leaves the hospital."
Ilenia's parents, who often played the Roma football anthem for their daughter while she was in a coma, thanked the World Cup winner for his visit.
"We will remember this day forever," Ilenia's father said.
"Francesco is always spontaneous, it felt like I was talking to my brother. He's a good person."
"We hope that this meeting will help Ilenia, because the path of recovery is still a long one. Francesco has promised he will come for supper once Ilenia starts walking again," Ilenia's mother said.