Urgent Appeal for Bruno’s Life: A Fight Against Time
As parents, the love we have for our children is indescribable, and we would do anything to protect them. But right now, my family is facing an unimaginable challenge. My son, Bruno, is fighting for his life, and we need your help.
A Heartbreaking Diagnosis
When Bruno was still in my womb, we were told that he would be born with a severe heart defect. We knew the situation would be complicated, but we had no idea just how dire it would become. As we eagerly awaited the planned delivery, we were told that Bruno's heart would likely stop immediately after birth. Miraculously, it didn’t. Instead, his pulse dropped to a dangerously low 70, an unexpected twist that even the doctors found hard to explain. That was the first of many small miracles that would come.
In the days after his birth, doctors decided to wait before performing life-saving procedures. Initially scheduled for pacemaker insertion and pulmonary artery banding, these surgeries were delayed due to his fragile condition. Eventually, on June 25th, Bruno underwent a complex procedure, but the sight of him connected to numerous wires and machines, his tiny body swollen from the surgery, was heart-wrenching. It was a sight no parent could ever prepare for.
Constant Struggle and Small Miracles
Since then, Bruno has been under constant care, relying on powerful medications just to stay alive. His condition is monitored by cardiologists, and we've sought the advice of specialists from all across Poland. But despite the efforts of our doctors, Bruno’s condition has continued to deteriorate, and we recently faced another life-threatening procedure—tightening the pulmonary artery band. Every surgery feels like a gamble, not knowing whether our son will make it through or what state he’ll be in when he wakes up. The fear is unbearable.
Thankfully, the surgery went well, and Bruno’s condition stabilized. But the doctors have made it clear—this is just a temporary fix. Bruno's heart remains critically weak, and his only hope now lies in a specialized double-switch surgery. This is a highly complicated procedure, one that has been performed only once in Poland. The only place where there is a chance for success is a clinic in Boston. But the cost of this surgery is astronomical.
A Race Against Time
The doctors in Poland have done everything they can to prolong Bruno’s life. They’ve given him a fighting chance, but they’ve also told us bluntly—without the double-switch surgery in Boston, there’s no hope for Bruno. Without it, his life will be cut short, and we will be forced to say goodbye far too soon. We cannot allow this to happen. We won’t give up on our son.
At this moment, we are in contact with the clinic in Boston, finalizing the plan for the procedure. We know that this surgery is our last hope for saving Bruno. But the cost is overwhelming. The financial burden is beyond anything we ever imagined, and we can’t bear it alone.
A Plea for Help
We are humbly asking for your support. Every donation, no matter how small, will help us get closer to the goal of securing the surgery Bruno desperately needs. We are running out of time, and we are turning to the kindness of others to save our son’s life.
Bruno deserves a chance. He deserves to grow up, to live, to experience life beyond the hospital rooms and endless procedures. He deserves the chance to play, laugh, and be a normal child, and we won’t stop fighting until we give him that chance. But we can’t do it without your help.
Please, help us share this message. Together, we can make this happen. Together, we can give Bruno the chance he deserves. Time is ticking, and every moment counts. Thank you for your kindness and generosity during this incredibly difficult time.
We are holding on to hope, and we are asking you to stand with us in this fight for our son’s life.
Fighting for Time: Wojtuś’s Battle Against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
For most children his age, life is a joyful rhythm of discovery—learning to ride a bike, racing across playgrounds, climbing monkey bars with laughter and fearlessness. But for little Wojtuś, those simple milestones remain out of reach. Instead of carefree afternoons, his days are shaped by a diagnosis that no child should ever have to face: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
In June, doctors confirmed what his parents had feared but never truly imagined—a genetic and incurable disease that slowly destroys muscles, stripping children first of their mobility, then their independence, and eventually, their ability to breathe. For his family, it was not just news. It was a sentence.
A Childhood Interrupted
Today, Wojtuś already struggles with the basic joys that most children take for granted. He cannot jump. He has difficulty running. Even climbing the stairs is a battle. Each step forward in his young life is shadowed by the knowledge that the disease progresses relentlessly with every passing month.
“Every time we see him stumble or pause halfway up the stairs, our hearts break a little more,” his mother shares. “We know what’s coming. We know that this disease will take more and more from him—and there’s nothing we can do to stop it completely.”
Currently, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is considered incurable. For families like Wojtuś’s, it is an enemy without mercy, one that moves slowly but inevitably forward. And yet, while there may be no cure today, there remains a battlefield: the fight to give their son the longest, fullest, and happiest life possible.
The Fight to Preserve Childhood
That fight is grueling, filled with both hope and exhaustion. Regular, intensive rehabilitation is critical to keep Wojtuś’s muscles working for as long as possible. Specialized medications—many imported from abroad—must be administered with care. Frequent visits to neurologists, consultations with dietitians, orthopedic equipment, rehabilitation tools, and even adaptations to their home have become a necessity.
Every element is part of the puzzle, every piece essential in slowing the advance of the disease. For his parents, these efforts are more than medical procedures—they are lifelines. They are the only way to preserve his smile, his independence, his very childhood.
But hope comes with a staggering price tag. The National Health Fund reimburses just one hour of rehabilitation per week, a fraction of what Wojtuś truly needs. The rest is up to his family—financially, emotionally, and physically. And the costs mount every single day.
“Every day without proper care is time wasted,” his father says quietly. “And time is something our son does not have.”
A Glimmer of Hope, A Mountain to Climb
There is, perhaps, a sliver of light on the horizon. Researchers in the United States are developing gene therapy treatments that could change the trajectory of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. For families like Wojtuś’s, it is a dream worth chasing.
But dreams, in this case, carry a cruel price tag: 16 million zloty. That is the estimated cost of the treatment—an amount that feels almost unimaginable. For most families, it would be impossible. But for parents fighting for their child’s life, the word “impossible” cannot exist.
“We would do anything,” his mother says. “You don’t think about the numbers when it’s your child. You think only of finding a way to keep him here with us, to let him laugh and play for as long as he can.”
A Call for Help
And so, they have turned to the kindness of strangers, to the collective strength of community, to the compassion of people who understand that no parent should ever have to fight this battle alone.
They ask for help—not just in financial contributions, though every złoty makes a difference. They ask for shares of their story, for kind words, for encouragement. Each act of solidarity is another step in giving Wojtuś the chance at life he deserves.
“For his childhood,” his parents plead. “For every smile. For every moment we can still win. We will never give up—but we can’t do it alone.”
Love Without Limits
For families like Wojtuś’s, the reality of Duchenne muscular dystrophy is devastating. But within that devastation lives something unbreakable: love. The kind of love that refuses surrender, that continues to rise every morning and fight, even when the odds are merciless.
This love cannot cure their son. But it can give him more time. More laughter. More moments of light in a childhood shadowed by illness. And with the help of others, it can give him a chance at something greater—a future where medical breakthroughs might arrive in time to save him.
The Polak family’s journey is one of heartbreak, yes, but also one of unshakable courage. It is a reminder that behind every diagnosis is not just a patient, but a child with dreams, a family with hope, and a community that can choose to make a difference.
In the end, Wojtuś’s story is not only about Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It is about the universal truth that love will always fight harder than despair, that families will always rise for their children, and that even the heaviest burdens can be carried if enough hands reach out to help.
