Help remove the ticking time bomb in Zuzia’s head!

Zuzia is fighting a glioma - a deadly brain tumor! The surgery at the University Clinic in Tuebingen, which will be undertaken by one of the best pediatric neurosurgeons in Europe - Prof. Martin Schuhmann - will give her a chance for health and a full recovery. However, we have very little time! The surgery has to be paid for already in December, the tumor is not waiting... Please help save Zuzia!

Our daughter Zuzia is a teenager full of energy and ideas for life. She loves horses and music. Unfortunately, her joyful young life was disrupted by a dramatic diagnosis... A brain tumor changed everything, took away the joy and gave fear as well as uncertainty of tomorrow... However, we, her parents, and Zuzia are here to fight!

Foreign surgery to remove the tumor is the biggest chance for our daughter! Although it carries risks, unfortunately, we have no other choice - Zuzia very much wants to live, and this is her only hope... We ask for your help, because we have very little time to raise a gigantic amount!

As recently as this spring, Zuzia was still enjoying life. She attended high school and music school, where she learned to play the guitar and double bass. She was an active girl, fond of all kinds of sports, but her greatest passion for a long time was horses and equestrianism. In fact, every weekend we were at the stable. Now her love for horses is one of her driving forces in the fight for health. Zuzia repeatedly says that she will do anything so that she can still ride horses!  

Zuzia's health problems began inconspicuously - with a recurring headache. At first a pain pill was enough, but then dizziness and great fatigue came along. We still explained to ourselves that this is normal during puberty, but over time we began to simply fear for our daughter. We went to a neurologist.  

The doctor did not underestimate the symptoms and sent us for an MRI. Not that he suspected something life threatening, but rather to calm us down. But then came the information that shattered our whole world... It turned out that there was a tumor growing in Zuzia's head!

Careful examination confirmed that it was a pilocytic astrocytoma and Zuzia was immediately taken to the hospital in Gdańsk. We packed up for the hospital and cried... 

Zuzia asked what was going to happen to her and what the doctors were going to do, and I didn't know what to say..

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After closer examination, it turned out that the tumor was located in a very risky place and during the surgical attempt to remove it, the right side of the body could be paralyzed! So the doctors decided that the risk was too high and the tumor should be observed first...

A repeat MRI performed in October showed that the glioma was not growing, but one of the doctors pointed out a cyst located nearby.  I heard that if it bursts, we will have 5-6 hours to save our daughter!  However, no one can predict when this will happen - maybe tomorrow, maybe next year.  This only added to the stress that was already paralyzing us!

Zuzia's case was consulted by Prof. Martin Schuhmann, Director of the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Tübingen University Hospital, and he said he was willing to undertake the surgery! Surgery is risky, but an even greater risk is to wait idly for the cyst to burst and the tumor to grow... 

We faced a difficult decision, but we seized it - if Zuzia has a chance to return to full health, we must take that chance. Continuous waiting in nightmarish fear would just finish us off...

Zuzia is a very brave, smart and sensible girl, we talk a lot about her illness. She was the one who made the decision about the surgery - we did not want to impose anything on her. Our daughter very much wants to return to horseback riding... She dreamed of studying medicine, but is aware of the possible consequences of the surgery. So she changed her class to one with a humanities profile, so that she can find a job in the future, even in a case where if she will not be fully fit... She is very brave...

We are fighting for Zuzia to regain her health and with it the joy of life! We are very much asking for your help so that we can get rid of the life-destroying brain tumor forever!