The Italian Earthquake and how crochet can help

Although I don't want to downplay the enormity of this, I never thought that crochet could be mentioned in the same sentence as the telling of the stories of survivors from the terrible devastion in Abruzzo, Italy. My heart goes out to those trying to make sense of it all and tremendous respect to the nonna of ninety plus who resorted to her crochet in a time of crisis. How many times have I (and many others, I guess) said how relaxing I find it but never could I have imagined that it could also be a protection of sorts from a horrifying situation. May she have a speedy recovery with her crochet and her life! Here are two reports on the story from The Australian and Italy Mag.

A 98-YEAR-OLD woman was pulled from the rubble of L'Aquila last night, 30 hours after an earthquake devastated the historic Italian town.
The rescue came as the death toll in Italy's deadliest earthquake in nearly 30 years rose to 207 and left tens of thousands sheltering in makeshift camps.

Maria D'Antuono told the ANSA news agency she whiled away the time by "doing crochet". Sky TG24 said the woman was in good condition.
A 98-year-old grandmother rescued 30 hours after Monday's earthquake in Abruzzo said she had whiled away the time ''crocheting'' amid the rubble.
Firemen on Tuesday morning found Maria D'Antuoni waiting in her bed surrounded by fallen plaster in the small village of Tempera.
D'Antuoni ate some crackers and told television crews ''at least let me comb my hair'' as they waited for an interview.
''What did I do all this time? I was working, I was crocheting,'' she said.