Maradona's mum passes away

Dubai, Nov 20 - Argentine football legend Diego Maradona's mother died at the age of 81 on Saturday night in the Los Arcos clinic of Buenos Aires.

Hospital sources said in a press release that Maradona's mother had been hospitalised since Friday because of chronic renal failure and hemodynamic instability.

"Manoeuvres began for hemodynamic support, dialysis and mechanical ventilation, despite which Dalma Salvadora Franco presented a cardiac decompensation at 6:30 pm (2130 GMT)," the hospital said.
From:bdnews24.com



Maradona was set to arrive home to a national outpouring of grief on Sunday after his desperate trip from Dubai to see his dying mother was too late, local media reported.

The online newspaper elargentino.com said Maradona's personal doctor had confirmed that Maradona had learnt of his mother's death during his flight.

The news broke midway through the first division match between Independiente and Olimpo in the suburb of Avellaneda and a minute's silence was observed before the second-half kick-off.

Dalma Salvadora Franco, known as 'Dona Tota', had been previously hospitalised in July this year in the Argentina Suizo Clinic with cardiac problems.

She was the mother of five daughters and three sons.

Maradona's sisters and his youngest daughter, Gianninna Maradona, were present at the clinic.

Maradona, the eldest of her three sons and her fifth child, was very close to his mother and he had a new tattoo with the words 'Tota I love you' put on his back before he moved to Dubai in August to coach UAE club Al Wasl.

She is said to have augured a bright life for her son when, at his baptism, a star from one of the church windows was reflected on the floor in front of them.

Maradona often recalls the sacrifices she and his father made for the family when they lived in a shanty town on the outskirts of the capital before their eldest son's genius as a soccer player lifted them out of poverty.

"He's the greatest thing life gave me," she was quoted as saying of her son.

He once said of her: "She always wanted us to eat. Every time the food arrived (at the table), she said she had a stomach ache. That was a fib, it was because there wasn't enough to go round. She's strong."
bdnews24.com