One week until departure.

Only seven days separate us from our departure.. Should we be happy? What we have been fighting for so many months is slowly coming true. We spent sleepless nights thinking about Antosia’s future.

A year and a half ago, we were kept awake at night by visions of Antosia needing lifelong prosthetics. Visits to specialists in our country only convinced us that amputation was the only right solution. After all, prosthetics are getting better and better… We comforted ourselves with the thought that people with prosthetics achieve great success, that it is not the biggest barrier. However, something inside told us to keep searching and digging. It turned out that there is a doctor in the USA who successfully helps children with similar defects stand on their own feet. We decided to try, despite the fact that treatment in the States is very expensive. The first stage costs over 650,000 PLN, not including the cost of a six-month stay in the States… Once again, we couldn’t sleep, wondering how to raise that kind of money in less than a year… There was a huge mobilization across our city, province, and even the whole of Poland. With the help of many, we managed to raise over 600,000 PLN, and in June, after waiting for over six months, we received news from the NFZ that they would cover the costs of the first stage of Antosia’s treatment.

We breathed a small sigh of relief. We started living like everyone else, forgetting a little about what lies ahead for us, and most of all, for Antosia. Now, with only 7 days left until this Great Journey for Antosia’s independence, the nerves are setting in. One question follows another.

Will the surgery be successful? Did we make the right decision? How will Antosia handle the six-month treatment? Will there be no complications? How will she handle the surgery? I think we fear the pain the most. It is hard for parents to watch their child suffer. And we have to prepare ourselves for that… Is it even possible to prepare for pain? Ehh… We will know the answers to all these questions soon. Let’s hope they are all a YES.