Our dear Sylwia is a five year old girl who lives in a care home facility for children with disabilities and who suffers from AHC, an ultra rare painful neurological disease characterised by repeated episodes of weakness and paralysis, difficulty with walking, poor coordination and balance, severe vision impairment, and developmental delay.

Most forms of physiotherapy treatment cause her pain and might cause episodes of paralysis; therefore, her only chance is hydrotherapy with a qualified professional.

In the water she doesn’t feel pain and she is capable of performing more muscle work.

I already took her to her first session, she enjoyed herself and her body responded very well to this activity.

Hydrotherapy costs 200 pln per hour (45.98 EUR) and Sylwia needs one session per week; 4 hydrotherapy sessions per month, from November to June, will cost us 6 000 pln (around 1380 EUR). They need to be paid in three parts, each payment of 2 000 pln (460 EUR).

Who is Sylwia and how did she become a part of our family?

Her life was not easy from the start; she was born at 30 weeks of gestation and abandoned straight away by her biological mother, a woman with significant substance abuse problems, straight away.

Sylwia went to live with a foster family, but when she turned 2 years old, she was sent away to a care home facility for children with disabilities since the family did not feel equipped to take care of her complex medical issues.

While living with the foster family, she did not have access to early developmental support and proper medical care, what caused further delay on many levels.

Last year we met Sylwia at a charity event and we immediately connected with that little girl, who is very friendly, chatty and cheerful, despite her painful condition and a tragical early life story.

A few months later we became Sylwia’s volunteer “aunt” and “uncle” and she became a part of our little family.

We take her on trips and days out every weekend; our 4 boys love her and get on very well with her.

Can you please help us to support her Sylwia?

We are a humble family, with 2 parents working full-time; two of

own children require extra medical care and educational support; our eldest is on the autism spectrum and requires regular psychotherapy and pharmacological treatment; the other one has learning difficulties and he can only thrive in a small private school with a complex educational support program.

However, I believe strongly that what defines us is not what we have, but what we share with others. And we want to support Sylwia the best way she can.

Will you help us?