You know what... My knees are sick, do you think I will still grow up well?

Sepsis devastated the body of our little son right after birth. For almost a month  Stasieniek fought for life. It was the worst time in our family's life. I could only look and pray that my son would defeat this infection ... He managed to overcome death ... But this insidious disease did not let anyone forget it. The infection damaged our son's joints. The knee joints  were ruined the most, and now Staś has to have them reconstructed.

When Staś was 6 years old, he said to his dad, "You you know what.. my knees are sick, do you think I will still grow up well?" It was just before the first operation on our son's legs, which took place almost three years ago in Aschau.  After years of rehabilitation and little successes, we learned that there were doctors who could make Staś be able to walk. I could almost touch the clouds with joy – at last there was someone who rekindled the fire of hope in us!  I wanted to take Staś to these people right away, so that they could operate him, but there was one huge obstacle – the cost of the surgery and treatment - over PLN 160,000... Hundreds of thoughts swirled in my head. Where to get such a big sum of money from? How much can we borrow? Again, Siepomaga seemed like a gift from heaven to us...

The collection started, and we lived in both hope, and uncertainty whether we would manage to get the whole required sum . And we did, thanks to you all. Staś went to Aschau in June, and in October he started to walk again. He was over the moon, as he was able to walk to a playgruond , or even ride a bicycle. For me happiness means to see my children play together, jump together, run over the lawn.. Although Staś is two years older that Julka, his sister is a role model to him. He wants to do everythything  the way  she does it.  Sometimes he asks “Wait! Slow down!” But he never gives up! Exactly the same as I don’t give up the fight for his legs being  healthy and functional.

Stasiu develops, but his legs are no longer able to keep his weight. Our son has grown, which is good information, but there is also a bad side of it all – he has to undergo another surgery.. And  this surgery  is even more serious than the previous one.  Again I am in fear what will happen next... Now the doctors have to reconstruct his entire  knee joints,  form the femur knuckles  and perform quadriceps muscle surgery. For Staś it is getitting harder and harder to walk, because of increasing contractures.  Unstable knee joints pose a great danger of falling, which is why Staś walks in orthoses.  He gets really nervous when he has to put them on because they prevent him from walking freely.

However, without them  he could fall, do himself  seroius harm, and this would mean that he couldn’t be operated on.. I don’t follow his every  step, but each time he goes to school or goes out to play, there’s this thought in the back of my head,  that nothing bad can happen to him - it's just stronger than me...

Stasiu develops, but his legs are no longer able to keep his weight. Our son has grown, which is good information, but there is also a bad side of it all – he has to undergo another surgery.. And  this surgery  is even more serious than the previous one.  Again I am in fear what will happen next... Now the doctors have to reconstruct his entire  knee joints,  form the femur knuckles  and perform quadriceps muscle surgery. For Staś it is getitting harder and harder to walk, because of increasing contractures.  Unstable knee joints pose a great danger of falling, which is why Staś walks in orthoses.  He gets really nervous when he has to put them on because they prevent him from walking freely.

However, without them  he could fall, do himself  seroius harm, and this would mean that he couldn’t be operated on.. I don’t follow his every  step, but each time he goes to school or goes out to play, there’s this thought in the back of my head,  that nothing bad can happen to him - it's just stronger than me...

I do everything I can so that Staś could have a normal childhood - he goes to school, goes on trips, plays with his peers... He loves to swim in the swimming pool, which is also a kind of physiotherapy for him.  I know, however, that without surgery, it may end soon... I also know that there is hope for Staś, but it has its price. Nearly 400 thousand zlotys ... This is a gigantic amount for me, but I believe that it will be possible to collect it. We already have  PLN 100,000 deposited on Stas’s  account in a foundation, which helps him. That's almost a third of the cost of the entire operation. I have already experienced  the power of good people, so I don’t assume that we could fail! After all, Stasiu will be a superhero:

"When I grow up, I will become a Superhero like Spiderman, of course I will not walk on the walls like him!" Fortunately Stasiu, mummy will be calmer...

Staś is persistent and patient. His imagination knows no limits. He survived a lot, and there’s still a lot ahead for him to overcome. Knowing him, I am convinced that will not give up easily.  Immediately after birth, he had to fight for  his life, and he won. This time, with your help, he will also fight  hard for the  functionality of his legs.  Help Staś to be able to walk firmly on the ground again.

Justyna and Bartłomiej, Staś’s parents