Maciej dreams of returning to sports activities

He has trained in Kyokushin Karate for eleven years, so successive rounds of fighting are not unusual for him.

What was surprising, however, was the leg pain that appeared in Maciek in December 2023. The pain radiated to almost the entire leg, especially in the thigh muscle area. The parents immediately went to a pediatric surgeon to consult their son's sudden ailment.

Our charge received an antibiotic, which temporarily gave positive results and improvement in health. The pain went away, but soon after the antibiotic was discontinued, it returned. The same process was repeated, but this time after the antibiotic therapy ended, the pain worsened so much that the teenager was hospitalized. After detailed diagnostics, a collection of pus was found in the right iliac spine, and doctors assumed that this was the reason for the bothersome condition.

An operation was performed, during which it turned out that there was no pus at all in the area indicated earlier, although the opportunity was taken and the area around the hip spike was cleaned and samples of genetic material taken for histopathological examination. The test result indicated that there were no cancer cells.

Although diagnostics showed nothing that should have worried Maciek's parents, in March 2024 the pain returned and was once again relieved with an antibiotic. Maciek was able to return to normal, and a month later, doctors conducted an X-ray examination, after which the bone was found to be rebuilding. The discomfort temporarily subsided.

At the beginning of the vacation, the teenager underwent another check-up. At the same time, the pain recurred again, and a fever also appeared. This time the result of the MRI showed that a cancerous lesion had appeared in Maciej's body. The first suspicion fell on Ewing's sarcoma. A biopsy performed at the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw confirmed the fears - our Warrior will have to fight an unequal battle with sarcoma.

Shortly thereafter, Maciek's treatment began, and he is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Nine cycles are planned, after which he will have a hemipelvic surgery, which involves removing part of the pelvic rim and implanting an endoprosthesis in its place, and then chemotherapy will continue. There will also be radiation therapy in the distant future.

The beginning of treatment proved to be difficult and demanding. Complications arose, blood transfusions proved necessary. Our charge's lungs are under special scrutiny, as this is an area particularly prone to metastasis.

This is just the beginning of Maciek's long recovery process. He is a born warrior, who, as we mentioned, trained karate for more than a decade. We have no doubt that he will stand up to fight the disease as determined and disciplined as he did to duels with his rivals on the mat or in the ring! The new situation has forced the teenager to change his daily habits and activities, but he has taken an interesting positive out of it - his great passion has become playing the bass guitar, which he is currently honing.

We encourage you to support this brave teenager! Maciej needs our help to get through a very demanding period of treatment and then return to full strength and fitness so he can compete in sports again!