I am Andrej Tomaš, 48 years old, born in Rijeka, husband and father of two school-age children (16 years old). I have lived my whole life in this city, where I want to stay and I want to stay. You could say that I am a victim of Covid 19 infection and this is my story.

I died from complications of Covid-19 infection. My life was saved but I have severe lifelong consequences. I survived central nervous system (brain) ischemia, severe hypoxia (saturation 31), sepsis, septic shock, bilateral pneumothorax (lung collapse), comatose state for 2 months, acute kidney failure, pericarditis, 3 types of bacteria (MRSA), necrosis, above-the-knee amputation, amputation of 3 fingers on the hand, two cardiac arrests and as you can see with successful resuscitation. I was on a ventilator for 80 days and treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation - ECMO. The consequences are 100% disability, 90% of which is in the lower extremities. Above-the-knee amputation, amputation of 3 fingers on the hand. On the other leg I have neurological deficits of the peroneus and tibialis nerves and paralysis (plegia) of the foot. Diagnosis tetraparesis.

I was rehabilitated at the Rijeka Hospital Center (Sušak) and in the Varaždin and Lipik spas. The condition was very difficult at first, but with a lot of motivation and desire for life, I managed to progress and get out of bed after 11 months of lying down. I had a great desire to walk with a prosthesis and I hoped that I would be able to walk with a prosthesis all day long. However, as the years passed, walking with the prosthesis remained the same without any progress and I am aware that the body has reached its maximum recovery, its limit and cannot give any more and that I need to use a wheelchair. The neurological damage is too great to be able to use the prosthesis all day long - tetraparesis, myopathy,

polyneuropathy, tremor. I have spinal cord damage and actually a form of cerebral palsy. However, I still have a great desire for life and activities. My city of Rijeka and the surrounding area where I live are not suitable for driving in a manual wheelchair over long distances. There are large hills, steep slopes, uneven terrain and insufficiently adapted places for moving with a manual wheelchair. I tried but it was not successful. I fell many times, rolled over on the road and hit my head on the floor. I realized that I was endangering my remaining health and causing my family a lot of worry. I am on disability pension and live on a disability pension that is very low (350€ for 22 years of service) and I am not able to buy an electric wheelchair for outdoor use. Such a wheelchair from the manufacturer Magic Mobility is a medical product, certified and approved for outdoor use and has a price of 27,000€! The offer from Bauerfeind is attached.

I am a proud husband and father of two young children who are in school, and with this wheelchair I would be more independent, self-sufficient, safer and happier, and my whole family would benefit from it. I need help buying such a wheelchair so that I can be active, satisfied and safe for myself and for everyone around me. The daily struggle with musculoskeletal diseases + amputation brings new challenges and difficulties in movement and mobility. The struggle is great, and the struggle is exhausting. Every day is different. Such wheelchairs can serve for many years because they are extremely strong and robust. Some examples last up to 15 years. In my situation, this product is not a luxury but a necessity.

For the last 7 years of my internship, I worked as a subcontractor for DPD Croatia and made many people happy by delivering their ordered packages to the remote Kvarner islands of Rab, Cres and Lošinj. I was proud of my job and the community in which I worked.

Now I need the help of all of you who know me, as well as people of goodwill, so that I can raise the money to purchase a stroller for outdoor use.

I hope that the funds will be successfully collected so that I can immediately order a stroller (offer attached) from the retailer Bauerfeind Croatia. The order is 80% in advance and the rest upon collection. The delivery time is 3-4 months.

I would like the next photos on this page to be with that stroller. I am fighting with all my heart to get the stroller I want so that I can be outside of my four walls and spend more time outdoors and in nature, and to be an encouragement to others who find themselves in a similar situation.

I want to prove and show that there is a life in a wheelchair that can be active. An accident or mishap can happen to anyone. Illness and various life situations do not choose.

The wheelchair that I so desperately want would allow me a new dimension of life. It would open the door to unimaginable freedom for a disabled person in a wheelchair. Freedom of movement and safety in movement. Independence. Satisfaction and a renewed feeling that I can do something. The wheelchair is my legs. I can go where I went before.

The Magic Mobility XT4 wheelchair is currently the best rehabilitation medical product in this category. Robustness, durability and comfort. Don't be fooled by the option that it is an off-road wheelchair, because believe me, driving in a wheelchair around the city and its surroundings is essentially a real off-road. Unfortunately, the infrastructure is not adapted enough to make it safe.

THE WHEELCHAIR IS MY LEGS!!!

I believe that together we can see the world through different eyes!

My main support and choice of financing so far have been my parents who have given their maximum of themselves and their finances, which have been spent and exhausted. My parents are old, my father is 83 and my mother is 79, and they are no longer able to help to such an extent. They have financed absolutely everything that was necessary from my arrival from the hospital until now, including the conversion of rooms, furniture, moving to another apartment, helping to finance children's school obligations... I can't list them all, because there is no end. My parents have shown and proven all their love and dedication to me and my family, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I believe in humanity and a society that

recognizes the need to help!

Payments can also be made to

IBAN Revolut LT06 3250 0820 7497 3226

AirCash only for natural person payments

HR5223400091511175097

Model 00 and reference number 408864-2289

TAKE A STEP FORWARD, DONATE!! BECAUSE YOUR STEP FORWARD IS FOR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT WITHOUT BORDERS.

BECAUSE THE WORLD IS NOT FLAT!!!

Thanks

Andrej Tomas