NUORO - A 51-year-old woman stabbed 18 times by her ex boyfriend has woken up from her medically induced coma 40 days later, only to ask where her son is - who died trying to protect her.

  Paola Piras, from Tortolì in Sardinia, had almost all of her vital organs hit when her 29-year-old ex-boyfriend Masih Shahid attacked her in the house where she was living with her father and 19-year-old son.

  Her son, Mirko Farci, had intervened in the attack and saved her life, doctors believe. She was immediately rushed to hospital in Lanusei, where she underwent four hours of emergency surgery before being put into a medically induced coma, from which she has only just woken up.

  Shahid, who already had restraining order forbidding him from contacting Piras, was arrested a few hours after the attack, where he confessed to the crime, saying that he was jealous and had suspected Piras of having a new boyfriend - though he and Piras had broken up six months earlier.

  After his arrest, a large crowd gathered outside the police station, aiming to attack him for what he had done. A few police officers sustained minor injuries in the tussle.

  Upon waking up, Piras immediately asked where her son was, though the doctors fear that the tragic news would not be good for her still incredibly delicate condition. She is breathing and eating autonomously but far from recovery.

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