Until today, I have not talked to anyone about this for fear of seeming crazy. But it is certain that the body's cells are programmed to destroy themselves with increasing age. IF THIS woman's mechanism has been damaged, perhaps by the coma, it would be a sensation. But we stand by our story. Armed with Elena's picture, local journalists scoured the town of Lucca, which has a population of 90,000, but so far have drawn a blank.
Some locals are sceptical.
The magazine assures me that this woman exists, although I've never met her or talked to her. But I would very much like to see her as part of my research into the ageing process.