Pink is Courageous

Editor's Note: This is the second of two stories leading up to Little Rock's Dig Pink Match against Arkansas State on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Caxias do Sul, Brazil seems like a world away from Little Rock and with over 5,100 miles separating the two, it's not surprising. When Diana Giordani left home after receiving shocking news from her parents last winter break, the nearly 26-hour trek back to the United States seemed even longer.
 
Even the shortest of trips can seem long just days after finding out your mother has breast cancer.
 
However, Diana wasn't the only one to be shocked. Even her mother, Gilda Pontalti, did not believe the doctor when she heard the words "breast cancer."
 
"She did not believe the doctor when he told her she had breast cancer at first. She was scared. She didn't tell us much about it. She was waiting until the exams to show her the truth," explained Diana.
 
It is hard not to fault Gilda for her lack of belief in the diagnosis. Currently in her early 60s, she was in good health, in great shape, participated in some kind of athletic activity four to five days a week and regularly eats healthy.
 
"There is no history of breast cancer in our family so it came as a shock," Diana said.
 
So began the longest trip to Little Rock Diana has ever experienced. It was January of 2019, she was going from warm, sunny Brazil (South America experiences summer weather opposite the Northern Hemisphere) to winter conditions in Little Rock to a team reshaping itself after losing eight letterwinners following a postseason run into the NIVC. And the departure came as her mother was about to begin five months of intensive chemotherapy.
 
"That was the hardest goodbye of my life," recalled Diana.
 
While being a world away, Diana's parents wanted her to focus on what she was leaving her native Brazil for – her education at UA Little Rock and her upcoming senior year as part of the Little Rock Volleyball team. The updates came, but in small bits and only partially.
 
"The day she had the surgery, she didn't tell me," Diana said. "My dad didn't tell me, my brother didn't tell me. I found out when my aunt told me. She texted me that she was going to the hospital to check on my mom. I wasn't sure what she was talking about. But at the same time that I was trying to find out as much as possible about what was going on, my mom and my dad didn't want to tell me much about it because they don't want me to worry."
 
If you were to look at Diana's production that semester last spring – both on the court and off – you wouldn't have known the difference.
 
"I think it was really, really hard for her to get through a lot of days in the spring," Little Rock Head Volleyball Coach Van Compton said. "There were a lot of days where she was really concerned. But it did not affect her grades and it did not affect the way she participated in practice. I think she has been very strong in the situation."
 
Diana would use her aunts to give her the behind-the-scenes information her parents didn't want her fretting over for a real glimpse into her mother's fight and for peace of mind.
 
"I wasn't pressuring my parents for information because I knew everything is going to be okay," explained Diana. "I didn't worry too much about it. Besides, I always got information from my aunts. They were the ones that were feeding me information."
 
Impressively, she continued to not let it affect her from achieving her goals in Little Rock. That is because Diana is a driven individual, very much like her mother.
 
Gilda Pontalti is probably the most driven person Diana knows. She is a teacher, she owns the family business manufacturing clothes with Diana's father and she is regularly seen volunteering around her community. A seemingly unstoppable force, she is still out and about in the community when her health allows.
 
It is that drive and that courage, as Diana explains, that gives her an even greater admiration for her mother than she ever had before.
 
"There are a lot of times my mom was scared and that is part of it," said Diana. "You don't have courage if you don't have fear. You are definitely are going to have fear at some point and you have to have the courage and trust to fight it."
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Volleyball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockVB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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