My summer in Padova

Ciao a tutti! My name is Conor O’Neil and this summer I spent my time working at the Hospital of Padova in connection with the university of Padova. I spent my time exploring the city streets, meeting new people, and trying some delicious food. There was a lot to see and it was my first time living in a city making it a completely different vibe from my lifestyle back in the United States.

It was summer and it was a hot one! With a few heatwaves bringing heat over 100 degrees Fahrenheit it sure was an adaption compared to the weather in New London, CT. I don’t think any heat waves in the USA will faze me as I have become used to the hot temperatures now! It rained only few days during my time there, so I was able to spend a lot of times outdoors. Padova is located in Italy’s Northern Veneto region and is well known for the beautiful 13th century Basilica of San Antonio. One of my favorite places to hit in the center square was Dalla Zita, which had a wide variety of Italian panini to try.

During my days at work I would go in for in patient clinics, study with some of the team to understand why a rare case pops up, and helping to organize for a camp to test out the use of the Medtrum A6 diabetes pump and CGM. I was familiar with the Dexcom G6, so this was very cool for me being able to understand the differences in the functionality between the two. The progress regarding monitoring and caring for diabetes that has been made over the past years has been incredible and now the children at the hospital were able to continuously monitor their blood glucose levels through the use of a phone. I worked in an office with around 15 people, all of whom were nice and made my time at work a learning experience I appreciate. The camp was split up by age group and tested how the children could adjust to controlling their blood glucose levels using a phone in connection with the Medtrum pump device for a week. I was also able to attend seminars on studies including non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes. The information was really interesting and I look forward in the future to leading a study that has potential benefits for those suffering from chronic illnesses such as Type 1 Diabetes.

Since Venice was only a 45 minute drive away, I was able to take a bus on weekends and spend some time there as well. What a city! It amazes me at how beautiful Venice was, as well as the history it contained. Having both Renaissance and Gothic influences in the architecture was very interesting. Also, the fact that there are over 100 small islands connected together composing Venice is very unique. One of the best spots I saw was Piazza San Marco. In Piazza San Marco you can find Basilica di San Marco.

In my spare time on the weekends I also was able to travel a bit around Italy and some of the sights were epic. I traveled to Rome, Florence, and Pisa.

There was a lot to see and do in Padova and throughout Italy! I cannot wait until my next traditional Italian meal, which I have gotten so used to (most likely gnocchi, very delicious)!