Ola Haładaj is a charming XNUMX-year-old girl whose cystic fibrosis and recurrent pneumothorax have ruined her childhood. For several months she has not left home, does not go to school, and does not meet with her friends. It is connected to an oxygen concentrator around the clock. It is only thanks to him that she can breathe. A chance for the girl is a lung transplant in a clinic in Vienna. In Poland, no one wants to undertake surgery.
– The daughter lives on a ticking bomb. She will not climb the step because she has no breathing power, after a few steps she has to rest because she is getting weak. He cannot bend over or suddenly get up. Even for a moment, she cannot be alone. With every smallest cough, I run to see if nothing happened, because anything can happen – says Magdalena Haładaj, the girl’s mother.
Ola lives in Wrocław and has been suffering from cystic fibrosis since she was a child. It’s a genetic disease. It is manifested by the fact that the patient’s body produces too much sticky mucus, causing disturbances in the respiratory and digestive systems. – For many years Ola’s disease progressed slowly, her daughter coped with it. Although she had to take digestive enzymes, because patients with cystic fibrosis do not digest fats, she had thinning inhalations, because secretions had to be sucked out, but she went to school, met with friends. We lived quite normally – says the girl’s mother. Last year, Ola entered puberty and, unfortunately, the disease accelerated rapidly – says the girl’s mother.
Since last spring, the thirteen-year-old girl was feeling worse and worse. She spent Easter at the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Rabka Zdrój, and in May she was hospitalized again. This time it turned out that he had pulmonary emphysema.
– Its first drain is in place. Doctors gave us hope that everything would be fine. Two weeks later the emphysema repeated again, this time on the other lung. Then came more. My daughter went to the intensive care unit several times with life-threatening respiratory failure – adds Magdalena Haładaj.
At one point, Ola had such a high concentration of carbon dioxide in her blood that there was no scale on the measuring device. In a pharmacological coma, she fought for her life for several days. – Then we realized that there was nothing to wait for. Cystic fibrosis destroyed Ola’s lungs, pneumothorax massacred them. A daughter must have new lungs to live. A transplant is necessary, says the girl’s mother.
The family started looking for a facility that would undertake a lung transplant for a 13-year-old girl. Unfortunately, at the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze, Ola was not qualified for the procedure. – Doctors decided that she was too young, too small, too short (she is 149 cm tall). They would have undertaken the surgery if Ola had been older and bigger, but we can’t wait until she grows up. We don’t have that much time – explains Magdalena Haładaj. – Besides, in Poland there is a shortage of child donors, it is a long wait for such a donor, and we are racing against time – he adds.
It turned out that the girl could be admitted to a clinic in Vienna. – They operate such cases, including children from Poland – says the mother of a thirteen-year-old girl. – However, the operation in Vienna is very expensive. It exceeds our capabilities.
Magdalena Haładaj: – We want to give Ola a chance because she deserves it. She is a brave, fighting girl. We believe that we will succeed and our daughter will come out of it.
The family applied to the National Health Fund for reimbursement of the costs of the transplant in a Viennese clinic. – I applied for such a refund, because if in Poland they refuse treatment, the possibilities will be exhausted, and this is what happened, I can apply for reimbursement of treatment costs abroad. That’s about 500. zlotys – says Magdalena Haładaj. – However, this is only part of the costs that have to be borne. We have to put out another 120 from our own pocket. PLN, because money is needed first for qualification for transplantation, then for a stay in a clinic in Vienna, medical transport from Poland and annual treatment after the transplant – he lists.
– In Vienna, new lungs are usually found within six months. However, we have to raise money to even qualify for surgery – adds the girl’s mother.
The family raises funds wherever they can. She is helped by the local community of Psie Pole, a district of Wrocław where Ola lives. Fairs and concerts of Christmas carols, the proceeds of which were allocated to the treatment of teenagers, were organized by the school where the girl attended. The money was collected by the parish and the residents of the estate. – I’m very built on it. Our estate is the bedroom of Wrocław, people don’t really know each other, and yet they managed to organize themselves to help their daughter. Every zloty and time is important to us, because Ola cannot wait – says Magdalena Haładaj.
For now, Ola’s world has shrunk to four walls. He avoids contact with people so as not to catch any infection. Any, even the smallest cold is a serious problem for her. Bedridden, she spends time with her favorite cats, Nona and Lucian, reads and learns computer graphics. In the past, she wanted to become a vet, today she only dreams of living another day. – She is a full of life warrior, although at times she has moments of breakdown. But she had come close to death several times and won. We believe that she will come out of it this time as well – says mom.
Ola is connected to an oxygen concentrator around the clock, without it she would not be able to breathe at all. He also has a gastrostomy and is fed directly to the stomach. – The energy expenditure of patients with cystic fibrosis is great. They constantly cough and vomit. They need 2500 – 3000 calories, I am not able to provide this with normal diet. That is why Ola eats normal meals during the day and is fed by gastrostomy at night. We have to strengthen her, she has to gain weight, because the constant stays in the hospital weakened her, and too little weight disqualifies her from the procedure – says mom.
Magdalena Haładaj: – Before Christmas in Vienna, Marysia, another girl from Poland, had a lung transplant operation, I am in touch with her mother. Marysia is already going for walks, she travels several kilometers a day on a stationary bike. It is very motivating for our Ola. Now it is her goal that she will leave the house someday.
You can help Ola Haładaj by donating money to the account of the Siepomaga Foundation, ul. 27 Grudnia 9A / 14, 61-737 Poznań. Account number: 65 1060 0076 0000 3380 0013 1425, with a note: 5339 Aleksandra Haładaj donation. You can also send an SMS to 72365 and the content: S5339.