Malignant liver cancer❗ Marysia is waiting for a transplant❗

One signal triggered an avalanche of decisions

At the end of September, Marysia returned from physical education class with an alarming feeling of discomfort under her ribs. When she felt a lump, she immediately told her mother. A visit to her primary care physician resulted in an urgent referral for an abdominal ultrasound, which revealed changes in her liver. She was referred to the hospital that same day. An MRI scan was performed in Szczecin, which put the doctors on high alert. There was a suspicion of malignant cancer. Decisions were made quickly, with no time to come to terms with the fear.

Biopsy, hemorrhage, and the struggle to regain control

Marysia went to Gdańsk for a liver biopsy. The test, which was supposed to provide answers, ended in serious complications. There was massive bleeding from the liver. A blood transfusion and urgent hospitalization were necessary. After being discharged, Marysia returned home to Koszalin, but only for a moment. The very next day , she developed a fever. Another emergency room visit, more tests, antibiotics, more days of uncertainty. After five days, the news came that ended all illusions. The family was to report the next day to the oncology department at the Children's Health Center in Warsaw.

A diagnosis that leaves no choice

Hepatocellular carcinoma. Malignant liver tumor. An extremely rare disease in children. Numerous, scattered, inoperable lesions. The doctors had no doubts.The only chance to save Marysia's life is a liver transplant. These are the words that make the family stop thinking about everything that happened before. Over the last two and a half months, Marysia has spent less than two weeks at home.
In a short period of time, she was a patient at four different facilities. She suffered complications after a biopsy, bacterial infections, isolation, and medical procedures that were difficult for a child to endure.

Chemotherapy and waiting for a transplant

Marysia has been included in the POLPHITT clinical trial program.Her case is of great importance to medicine, but for her family, only one thing matters: getting her safely to the transplant. Chemotherapy has begun in three-week cycles. The treatment is showing its first results. Tumor markers have fallen and the changes in her liver have begun to shrink. This gives hope, but it does not mean the end of suffering.
Chemotherapy is very stressful for Marysia. She has lost her hair.

Infectious complications arose, requiring prolonged isolation. She developed tinnitus, so she remains under the constant care of an audiologist. Due to the side effects of the medication, she is also monitored by a cardiologist. On top of that, she has been struggling with asthma since childhood.
At the same time, Marysia was put on the waiting list for a liver transplant. This is the most difficult stage. Waiting, where every day brings the question of whether an organ will be found in time.

Life in limbo and away from home

Marysia is staying in Warsaw, at the Children's Health Center. Her home is in Koszalin. The family is divided between the hospital, a temporary apartment at her grandparents' house, and the place that used to be the center of their everyday life. Her parents take turns staying with Marysia. Her dad works remotely and keeps vigil at her bedside at night. Her mom is with her during the day. Their professional lives have had to take a back seat to their child's treatment. Everything else has been put on hold. However, it is Marysia herself who suffers the most. The girl who loved school, had
excellent grades, and a great need to create (she shares her work on Instagram @starry_heart2013), was suddenly torn from her world. She misses her friends, movement, and normality. Despite this, she tries to maintain her childlike strength. She draws, talks to her friends online, catches up on her studies, and learns to play the guitar. She tries to save herself in a reality that gives her no respite.

The family is asking for help.

This fundraiser is real support in the fight for the life of a 12-year-old girl who is waiting for a liver transplant. Her treatment is not only chemotherapy and transplantation. It is long months of living in Warsaw, far from home. There is only one goal: to safely get Marysia to her liver transplant and then help her through the subsequent months of treatment and recovery.