Regaining a life which broke in the accident

After a 7-year campaign for getting back to normal life he got a chance to walk again. Presumably, You all know the story of a a former speedway champion Tomek Gollob, who struggles against the injury he got in an accident. Tobiasz, just like Tomek, had a day in his life which made him dream about one thing – to stand up and be able to walk. 

A split second – it is exactly the time it takes to change somebody’s life, to depreciate priorities and make everyday activities of a man to become the greatest dream.

Tobiasz loved playing football. He has been a very fit boy. Sport has been his element. He has always wanted to be active as it made him really happy. The  dream of  becoming mobile again has become the content of his life.

On the 25 August 2011, as every year at the end of summer holiday, he went shopping for school items and sports gear for the school-year. The last days of the summer break should have been used adequately, so he came up with another idea.

After he had returned home, he ran to the lake with his friends. They swam and played in the water, but this time something went wrong. One jump turned out to be tragic – one jump ended everything. Someone called the ambulance, another person rushed to notify Tobiasz’ mother. Suddenly, it became very noisy and quiet at the same time. The boy doesn’t remember much from that day. Perhaps it is better this way, because he didn’t have to witness all that turmoil, panic and the tears in his mother’s eyes.   

The diagnosis at the hospital was the fracture of the spinal column at C5 level, which is very high. „Four-limb palsy – one of you must quit the job and take care of your son, because he will remain paralysed till the end of his life” - the doctor said. His words sounded like a sentence. But Tobiasz was barely 14 years old, he had great dreams, he wanted to become a computer scientist, go to Japan...

Today Tobiasz is 21. He graduated from a secondary school which trains information technology specialists. Despite his disability he is a very cheerful person. He has never given up. He exercises intensively everyday. All these years included continuous rehabilitation terms in Tarmowskie Góry and Bydgoszcz.

Can You imagine what a man who has been trynig to „tame” his disability for 7 years and suddenly saw a chance of coming back to  normal life can feel?

His chance is a powered  exoskeleton built in Japan, for quite a short time also available in Poland. Scientinsts concluded that walking is mostly the matter of the brain activity and if they succeed to reconstruct certain mechanisms within the patient’s memory, an injured person may be able to walk despite the broken vertebral column and spinal cord.

Perhaps Tobiasz will not regain his full mobility, but he may rise from his wheelchair, He  may be able to make a step – the first one for 7 years, and then another, and another. Everything depends on rehabilitation with the use of exoskeleton

Intensive rehablitation enabled Tobiasz to use his hands normally. The fact that he won agaist 4 limb paralysis gives very good chances to win a normal life.

Help is needed. The dark side of the chance is the price to be paid. It takes over 250 thousand PLN to give Tobiasz opportunity to be independent. It is not much for such a change, but he can’t do it on his own. We are his only chance to get up from the wheelchair. Tobiasz and his parents are grateful for help.