Alex Zanardi, the former Formula 1 driver who became disabled champion, was able to return home to continue his rehabilitation course after a very serious accident with his hand bike in June 2020, his wife Daniela Zanardi announced on Monday.
A year and a half after this accident which required several operations on the head, "Alex was able to leave the hospital a few weeks ago and he is now back with us, at home", she confides. in an interview broadcast by BMW, a brand for which the disabled sports champion is an ambassador.
“After this long hospital stay, it is important for him to be back in his family environment.
Due to the situation due to the Covid, Alex has only had people wearing masks and protective equipment around him for a year and a half (...) He finds a certain normalcy and this gives him strength extra, ”she explains.
His wife evokes "constant progress"
“Rehabilitation continues to be a long process, with steady progress.
Of course, there are setbacks and sometimes you have to take two steps back to be able to take one forward, but Alex proves that he is a real fighter ", describes the wife, reporting in particular" a lot of progress in the eyes of his physical condition ”.
Alex Zanardi, 55, has become one of the great figures of disabled sports - a quadruple gold medalist in cycling at the Paralympic Games - after having had both legs amputated in 2001, following a terrible accident during a IndyCar Championship auto race.
In June 2020, he suffered a serious head injury during an accident during a race in Tuscany using his handcycle.
He crashed into a truck and suffered from multiple fractures in his face and underwent several operations.
First hospitalized in Milan, he was transferred to a hospital in Padua, closer to his home, a year ago.