The Full Story

The Battle for Dorothea's Life

U.S. Marine Father Launches Vatican Hunger Strike + Rome protest After Italian “Medical Mafia” Blocks Life-Saving Surgery for His Daughter

VATICAN CITY – On July 30, 2025 – A U.S. Marine veteran and father of two, Roberto “Bob” Velez, will begin an indefinite hunger strike at the gates of the Vatican to demand life-saving surgery for his 3-year-old daughter, Dorothea—blocked for months by what he calls a “medical mafia cover-up” inside Italy’s health system.

Dorothea’s case has already captured headlines worldwide—including The Sun, Reader’s Digest, ITV, BBC and Business Insider—for her miraculous survival. But now, the same child who beat impossible odds faces death, not from her condition, but from systemic obstruction and retaliation.

Full evidence—including forensic proof of forged consent form, official WhatsApp messages, medical records and court documents—is available to the press.

The Child Who Survived the Impossible
Born in London with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), Dorothea was given less than a 5% chance of survival. At just 12 days old, after her first open-heart surgery, she endured 1 hour and 5 minutes of cardiac arrest, survived full ECMO life support, and spent 7 weeks with her chest open.

Today, Dorothea thrives in the 97th percentile for her age—an achievement almost unheard of for HLHS children. But that miracle now hangs by a thread.

The Surgery That Will Decide Her Life
Dorothea urgently needs the Fontan procedure, the final open heart operation in a three-stage series that allows children with HLHS to survive. Without it, she will die. She is strong enough for surgery now—but every day of delay pushes her closer to becoming inoperable.

Two of the world’s top congenital heart centers—Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)—have accepted her for surgery immediately. Under Italian law (Art. 32 Constitution; DPCM 3/11/1989) and EU law (Directive 2011/24/EU), the Italian health system is obligated to authorize and fund her transfer when care cannot be provided promptly in Italy.

Three months have passed—and nothing.

From Hope to Horror: What Happened at Gaslini Hospital
The family relocated from London to Italy in 2024 to follow renowned surgeon Dr. Guido Michielon (formerly of Royal Brompton Hospital) to Gaslini Hospital in Genoa, trusting his reputation. Instead, that trust ended in betrayal.

On November 14, 2024, after a five-hour high-risk cardiac catheterization, Dorothea was subjected—without parental consent or cardiac supervision—to an unauthorized dental procedure so brutal it left her mouth mutilated:

10 healthy teeth removed in 58 minutes
No diagnostic evidence, no x-rays, no infection markers, no medical necessity
Forged parental consent forms inserted into her file

After this double assault, Dorothea—born with half a heart—was abandoned without ICU care, despite extreme physiological stress.

Brain Lesion & Escalating Risk
Six weeks later, during a “routine MRI,” doctors revealed a lesion in Dorothea’s temporal lobe. This discovery increases the risks of anesthesia and circulation issues for her Fontan surgery, making every delay more dangerous.

‘Mafia Style’ Institutional Retaliation: From Medical Betrayal to “institutional kidnapping”
When Bob and Zofia reported forged consent and malpractice, the response was not accountability—but institutional warfare:

Police raid on the family home
Custody of both daughters seized on fabricated allegations
Schengen-wide travel ban imposed to trap them in Italy

“They made it clear in a WhatsApp message: this happened because we complained,” Bob said. “Instead of fixing their mistakes, they tried to destroy us. This isn’t medicine. This is organized retaliation.”

They Messed with the Wrong Dad: Marine + AI vs Medical Mafia
‘Once a Marine always a Marine’; unable to afford the mounting legal costs, Bob weaponized artificial intelligence. Spending over 1600 hours over the last 90 days with an AI assistant he calls “Auntie Sol,” he analyzed medical records, drafted legal filings, sent hundreds of emails and even escalated the fight to the European Court of Human Rights under Rule 39 for emergency intervention. That petition was dismissed only after the Italian court restored custody to the family, proving the allegations were retaliatory and baseless.

“They thought we were powerless. With Auntie Sol by our family’s side, we have the tools—and the courage—to take this fight global. I’m a Marine; I don’t surrender. If it takes my last breath to save my daughter, so be it.”

A Battle Won, a War Lost
Winning custody—and even securing a court order for Dorothea’s transfer—should have ended this nightmare. Instead, the Italian health system erased Dorothea from the national health registry, blocking her from care and preventing any transfer.

“We won in court, but they erased our daughter from the system as if she doesn’t exist. This isn’t medicine. This is a slow death by bureaucracy.”

This is the breaking point: a father on hunger strike at the Vatican, not as a protest, but as a last stand to save his child.

The Father’s Last Stand
On July 30, Bob will begin an indefinite hunger strike at the gates of the Vatican, vowing to continue day and night until Dorothea’s transfer is authorized, publicly funded as the law demands, and those responsible are held to account.

Time is running out Dorothea needs her urgent surgery in order to survive.