Until recently, I lived an ordinary teenage life.

I went to the gym, spent time with friends, walked, ran, and planned for my future. Today, at 19 years old, I am confined to a wheelchair and fight for every single day.

How it started

In November 2023, I began experiencing dizziness, severe headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness and numbness in my limbs. Doctors were puzzled. After extensive searching, I was diagnosed with Tethered Cord Syndrome - a rare condition in which the spinal cord is abnormally attached to surrounding tissue, causing progressive neurological damage.

Symptoms kept and keep worsening

Tethered Cord Syndrome is a progressive disorder. From the very beginning, my symptoms were continuously intensifying, marked by escalating, agonizing back pain and a steady decline. While the first surgery successfully halted this progression by releasing the spinal cord, the relief was only temporary. Once the cord re-tethered, and especially after the second surgery, the progressive decline resumed - and even today, my symptoms continue to worsen day by day.

Two surgeries - and a nightmare

In May 2024, I underwent my first surgery in Poland. For three months, I felt better. Then the symptoms returned - the spinal cord had re-tethered. In February 2025, a second, more invasive surgery was performed. Instead of improvement, I suffered a catastrophic decline: I lost the ability to walk, developed severe spasticity and contractures in both legs, and - due to complete urinary retention - have since required a permanent suprapubic catheter. I am 19 years old and have been wheelchair-bound for over a year.

An added complication - MCAS

At the same time, I was diagnosed with severe Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), an immunological condition causing severe reactions to medications, food, and environmental triggers. I can only tolerate a handful of foods and a very limited range of sterile pharmaceutical formulations. This makes every aspect of my medical care significantly more complicated.

Polish medicine has reached its limits

After two failed surgeries in Poland, standard intradural approaches carry an unacceptably high risk of further complications in my case. Two advanced surgical options are now being evaluated by specialists abroad: intradural revision surgery with expansile duraplasty - a procedure to release adhesions and reconstruct the dural sac - and Spinal Column Shortening (SCS), a vertebral osteotomy that permanently reduces tension on the spinal cord by shortening the spinal column itself, eliminating the need to enter the scarred intradural space. Fewer than a handful of surgeons in the world perform SCS for tethered cord.

A breakthrough - confirmation from leading specialists

After months of international outreach - contacting dozens of neurosurgical centres across the USA, Germany, and China - I have received confirmation from two of the world's most respected neurosurgeons:

• Dr. Petra Klinge (Rhode Island Hospital / Brown University, Providence, USA) - who first diagnosed my tethered cord in 2024, has now reviewed my current MRI and records, confirmed re-tethering, and sees indications for intradural revision surgery with expansile duraplasty. She is also arranging for her colleague Dr. Niu - an SCS specialist at Brown - to additionally evaluate my candidacy for Spinal Column Shortening during the same in-person visit. This consultation is scheduled for October 1st.

• Dr. Peter Chou (Columbia University / NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, USA) - one of the most experienced SCS surgeons in the United States, has confirmed acceptance for an in-person consultation.

We need your help to get me there

The consultation with Dr. Klinge and Dr. Niu is scheduled for October 1st. Time is limited - we need to raise funds and arrange the trip before then. I must travel to New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.

A lie-flat seat - available in business class on transatlantic routes - allows me to travel horizontally, the same position in which I spend the vast majority of my time at home. This is not about comfort. It is the only configuration in which a roughly 10-hour flight from Poland to the USA is medically feasible for me.

I also cannot travel alone. Due to my mobility impairment, I require a caregiver - one of my parents - to assist me throughout the journey: transfers, the catheter, medication, and everything else that I cannot manage independently in an airport or on a plane.

That means two lie-flat business class tickets, return - one for me, one for the parent acting as my in-flight caregiver. My second parent will travel with us on the same flight in economy class. I require full wheelchair assistance at every stage of transit.

The total cost of this trip (10 days, 3 people) is approximately €17,000, covering flights, accommodation, ground transportation, food, and travel insurance.

Every donation brings me closer to a normal life.

I am 19 years old. I have my whole life ahead of me. Please help me stand up from this wheelchair.

How the funds will be used:

• Flights (business class x2 + economy x1, return) - ~€7,000
• Accommodation NY + Providence (10 nights) - ~€2,500
• Consultation fees (Dr. Klinge/Niu + Dr. Chou) - ~€1,750
• Ground transportation (wheelchair-accessible vehicle rental) - ~€1,500
• Food (including specialized diet due to MCAS) - ~€1,500
• Travel insurance (pre-existing conditions coverage) - ~€400
• Administrative costs (ESTA, IDP, eSIM, medical supplies) - ~€400
• Buffer for unexpected costs - ~€1,950

Total: ~€17,000

With gratitude, Dawid