Little could i imagine Maria Andrejczyk when he was preparing for the Tokyo Games that by getting on the podium he would also save a life. The javelin thrower polish auctioned off the silver medal he won at the Games so that a child of his country, Milosz, could be operated in a serious heart condition in the Dexeus University Hospital, from Barcelona. The story has had a happy ending and the little boy, aged eight months, has returned home.
“The real value of a medal always remains in the heart. But it is only an object that can be of great value to others. This silver can save lives instead of collecting dust in a closet. That is why I decided to auction it to help that child ill, “explained the athlete, after selling the medal for 44,000 euros. Not only that, but he opened an account so that whoever wanted could make more contributions. Milosz’s story had shocked Maria, 25, who three years ago had to fight osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. “It was really an impulse. I felt that this medal could not stay with me because I remember well how much I had to fight against adversity and pain.”
Milosz’s mother, Mónika, has conveyed the family’s gratitude to the athlete for her help, since the money raised with the auction of the Olympic medal and other contributions from individuals of his country have allowed to pay for the operation of the child in Barcelona.
A congenital heart disease
Milosz was barely a month old when he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease that caused heart and lung problems. To correct it, a surgical technique known as ‘sutureless’ has been performed, to expand the drainage of the left pulmonary veins, avoiding putting the stitches directly on the veins. On October 4, Dr. Raúl Abella, head of the Congenital Heart Disease Unit of the Dexeus Hospital, successfully operated on the little boy, who has already been discharged and has returned to his home, in Poland, as reported on Tuesday by the Barcelona hospital.
The doctor has explained that in this way “posterior narrowing is prevented, definitively correcting the drainage”. After spending the last month and a half in Barcelona, Milosz must return to the Catalan capital in six months or a year to evaluate its evolution, but it will be able to have a completely normal life.
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Maria received the European Athletics Community award for her gesture, an award that she wanted to share with all those who had contributed with their donations to pay for the child’s operation. In addition to this distinction, the local government of Podlaquia, province of the athlete, has also commissioned a replica of the solidarity medal.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com