Our daughter Joanna suffers from spastic quadriplegia as a result of sudden cardiac arrest.As a mother, I am also my daughter's legal guardian. Asia was born healthy, on time. She developed and grew normally. When she turned 2 years old, as a result of a cold and high temperature, she was taken to a local hospital and went into cardiac arrest there. Doctors managed to restore our daughter's vitals, but she has been incapacitated for 19 years. The cardiac arrest caused hypoxia of the brain structures and permanent brain damage, resulting in loss of motor and intellectual functions, in addition to many other abnormal neurological symptoms from the central nervous system. Joasia's brain was damaged to such an extent that the hitherto healthy child stopped walking, talking and sitting. Doctors described their daughter's condition as vegetative. In an instant, our world collapsed. We had to say goodbye to the old Asia, and take in a completely new, different, stranger.

We loved with all our hearts, and it was love that gave us the strength to fight for our daughter's health and future. We did and are doing everything humanly possible to restore our daughter to as much fitness as possible. One moment turned our lives into a constant struggle first for life, then for the health of the child. Thanks to intensive rehabilitation and multidirectional therapy, Asia began to return to us. Joanna slowly began to speak. First short words, now whole sentences. She reports her needs and cravings. She tells what was at school, loves books. Unfortunately, she does not sit up on her own or walk. She has paresis in her arms and legs. She moves in a wheelchair and requires assistance in all activities. We devote all our time to Joasia, but we are constantly at a loss with spasticity, which does not allow our daughter to control her body. Therefore, when we learned that there is a possibility to purchase for Asia an electric wheelchair, which she will be able to steer on her own - we were positively shocked! Our daughter has already been on a test drive and she liked it so much that she didn't want to get out of it.She even chose a color for herself. Every day she asks us when we will go to pick it up. That's when our hearts break, because despite the partial reimbursement, we are not able to budget such a huge amount on our own. On top of that, we have very little time left.

We have to make the payment by the end of the year, otherwise the subsidy will be lost. We cannot allow this to happen. We can see how much good this equipment would bring into our lives. Asieńka could feel at least a substitute of independence, and we would be greatly relieved. We wholeheartedly ask for your support. We know that the amount is huge and there are only a few weeks left to collect it, but only with the help of good-hearted people can we succeed. For each and every donation, we sincerely thank you.
Małgorzata and Andrzej - Joasia's parents