Reflecting on that day still fills us with fear, as if it were just yesterday. It started so innocently — a few urological concerns that we thought were minor. Perhaps a cold or just stress. We believed that a few days of rest would restore normalcy. But life had different plans.
During what was meant to be a routine ultrasound, the doctor suddenly fell silent. We can still picture his face — the color draining from it — and the heavy pause that followed. Then came the words that shattered our world: “There’s a tumor on your daughter’s kidney.”
The next morning, we found ourselves at the Cape of Hope children’s hospital in Wrocław. That’s where our long, painful journey began — a journey filled with sleepless nights, fear, and moments when all we could do was pray for strength.
Zuzia was just a little girl, yet she had to endure what no child should ever face. Countless tests, hospital stays, anesthesia after anesthesia, MRI scans, biopsies, and the constant drip of IVs. Some days, she was too weak to open her eyes. Other days, nausea and fever left her softly crying in her hospital bed, clutching her stuffed bunny.
The tumor continued to grow. Doctors concluded that surgery was her only chance. We watched as our daughter was wheeled into the operating room — so small, so fragile, yet so brave — whispering, “I’ll be back soon, Mom.” We waited outside, hands trembling, praying for one thing: that she would return to us.
When it was over, the doctors informed us they had removed her right kidney. Our little girl had lost a part of herself — but she hadn’t lost her courage.
Zuzia understands she has a “bad kidney” and that she receives “infusions that make her hair fall out.” When her hair began to fall out in clumps, she calmly approached me and said, “Mom, cut it all off. It’ll grow back when the infusions are done.”
We cried — not for her hair, but for her strength. Our daughter, at just a few years old, faced something most adults couldn’t bear — and still managed to smile.
She refused to wear a wig. “It’s itchy,” she said. “I’m fine like this.” And she was. Beautiful. Brave. Unwaveringly herself.
Today, Zuzia continues her chemotherapy. Every two weeks, we endure another long, exhausting week in the hospital. Between cycles, we return home — but not for long. Her body is so weak that we often have to go back for blood or platelet transfusions. Yet even in her fatigue, Zuzia finds moments of joy. She paints, decorates anything that sparkles, and dreams.
“Mom,” she said one evening, gazing out the hospital window, “when the IVs are gone, we’ll go to the seaside. I’ll build the biggest sandcastle ever.”
Those moments keep us going — the quiet, fragile hopes of a child who still believes in sunshine after the storm.
But the battle is far from over.
Zuzia’s body is weary. Her immune system is delicate. She still faces more chemotherapy, more transfusions, and more rehabilitation to regain her strength. We are doing everything we can — but the costs are overwhelming.
In addition to Zuzia’s illness, our family is also caring for her brother, who has a disability. Each day is a balancing act between hospitals, therapy sessions, and survival — not just physically, but emotionally. We are learning to live in the shadow of illness, to find beauty in the smallest victories, and to keep believing in goodness, even when it feels distant.
But now, we need assistance.
We require funds for ongoing treatment, rehabilitation, medication, transportation, and everything else that gives our daughter a chance at recovery. We are doing our best, but we can’t do this alone anymore.
There is nothing worse for a parent than standing beside their child’s hospital bed and realizing that love alone isn’t enough — that medicine, care, and hope all come with a price that we can’t afford.
We just want to see her grow. To hear her laugh again without pain. To take her to the seaside and watch her build that sandcastle she dreams of.
Zuzia has already shown that she’s a fighter — stronger, braver, and more determined than anyone we know. But to continue fighting, she needs all of us.
🙏 Please, help us give her a chance at life.
Every donation, every share, every kind word brings us closer to providing Zuzia with the future she deserves — one filled with sunshine, laughter, and the freedom to be a child again.
She lost a kidney, but not her courage.
Now, with your help, she can win her battle for life. ❤️
