27 years of struggle with disability. Help me stand straight!

The first few hours of my life I was a healthy boy with an Apgar score of 9 points. That was my first and the last such evening where I was fully healthy. A moment later, I was infected with Staphylococcus aureus on a neonatal care unit and this bacteria will stay inside my body the rest of my life. This vicious bacteria “ate” almost all of my hip-joint, acetabulum, and femoral head. Today, my right leg is shorter than the left one by 3 inches. At my age, this is the last opportunity to make any changes. The surgery and following rehabilitation cost almost 400,000.00PLN ($106,435.00).

Since 1992, I have been coping with earlier medical mistakes. As an infant, the infection was stopped, but it was not the end of my nightmare. Limited Polish medical care was only able to offer a life being wheelchair bound or surgery with uncertain results (an experimental trial). Only after my parent’s spent months conducting extended research for any opportunities abroad, I was accepted to undergo two surgeries at the ages of two and three in one of Germany’s highly equipped hospitals. German doctors were able to reconstruct some of my hip-joint following the profound damage that was done by the bacterium. They achieved a very important goal - I could walk.

As a young boy, I tried to be like my school peers. I tried to run, jump, and have a happy childhood. It was not easy to do all of that with a rubber platform, attached by my grandfather, to my shoe’s right sole. In elementary school, I realized that I was “different”. Peers were curiously gazing at me and asked a variety of questions. I always took last place in 60 meter sprints. Why did this happen to me? Why can’t I be just healthy?

Today I am 27 years old with a promising life ahead. I want to live independently without feeling like a burden for those closest to me. My hip-joint is presented in one of the pictures. Its range of motions is highly limited. In recent years, pain has been getting progressively more severe. The hip-joint becomes older and more used every day. I dread every morning because one day I may not be able to get up from my bed on my own. What options would I be left with? A prosthesis? A wheelchair? A permanent deformity?

After more than two decades spent researching and numerous consultations with doctors, nobody was able to offer a safe and successful method of treatment. The unexpected breakthrough happened last April after yet another doctor consultation with a world famous expert in orthopedics Dr. Dror Paley from the United States. I was filled with hope. Dr. Paley is a genius and the finest expert in his medical field. He created a solid treatment plan to fix my physical condition.

The upcoming surgery is immensely complicated. It consists of two stages: hip-joint reconstruction and leg lengthening. It is my last chance to get my physical health back and live without pain and worry. Due to my age, this is the last opportunity for such a complex surgery. Unfortunately, there is a downside.

The surgery and following rehabilitation is tremendously expensive - exceeding my financial means. Therefore, I ask you for financial support to make this miracle happen. The collection of such colossal amounts of money seems like a miracle to me. Please, assist me. I need your help tremendously. I wish to walk through my life happy and healthy. Without you I may not be able to do so…

Michał