Physical Health Poland Project #47356

Rehabilitation center for 60 disabled in Poland

by Fundacja im. Doktora Piotra Janaszka PODAJ DALEJ/ Doctor Piotr Janaszek PAY IT FORWARD Foundation

Rehabilitation center for 60 disabled in Poland

Project Report | Aug 2, 2024
THE GENE OF INDEPENDENCE - Joanna

By Filip Sobieszek | Project Leader

PAY IT FORWARD - Joanna M

When I was born, doctors told my parents that I would be like a plant. That I won't even talk. That they should put me "somewhere" because I will be a burden to them.

My legs and arms are paralyzed. The fact that I can't walk and can't grab a lot of things has always been normal for me. So ordinary that for many years I didn't understand why others were surprised by it.

I was educated at home. I had to. The school building was full of "traps". There were no integration classes. My mother took me to school for games and other events. The children treated me well. They rarely visited me at home. When they realized I didn't have as many toys as they imagined. They thought that people were showering me with them to "sweeten" my illness. The doors to my flat almost didn't close only when kids were given grades for good behavior. I had so many guests from school then...

Mom puts me on the swing. I feel her warmth, smell and strong hands. I am among people... These are my first memories. My mother was my childhood. Wiping away tears of pain. Looking for more doctors and new forms of rehabilitation. Repeating the exercises with me thousands of times so I could learn to eat, read, write and speak on my own. It was my mother who taught me that my life depends only on me. It was her and Doctor Piotr.

I was 9 years old. Then I went to the first rehabilitation camp he organized. I remember, like it was today, the tents, the kitchen, the morning roll calls, the Doctor playing the guitar by the fire and his daughters Zuzanna and Olga - scouts helping the camp children. And I remember the rule: be independent in whatever you can!

I didn't finish high school. The only one which wanted me was far away. Doctor Piotr accepted me for Occupational Therapy Workshops. Then he set new challenges. For example, entering texts for the foundation's newspaper. I was typing it on a computer with one finger. For many hours. But I did it!

I said "yes". A dozen or so years later, the day after Zuzanna offered me a job at the PAY IT FORWARD Foundation. On the first day I was too surprised. Me? A person with such a major disability? No education? And what could I do for the Foundation? It quickly turned out that I had a lot of work to do.

I "caught up" on my education. Certificates from the training I completed thanks to the Foundation filled one wall of my room. Computer courses, courses on how to be an effective volunteer, how to actively look for a job, how to cooperate with children and young people. These are just a few of them.

I am a workaholic. Because my work is my passion. I don't "deal with papers", but I work through my smartphone. This is my "command center". I'm among people. I will go anywhere, I will arrange everything. Bus drivers, post office ladies, and city hall employees all know me. At the Foundation, I supervise order and the work of volunteers, I collect money, I write - by hand! – thanks and Christmas cards for donors. I also show guests around the Foundation's office.

I "tamed" my disability. Although there are a few things I need help with. And no, I am not ashamed of my illness. I talk about it honestly and openly. I prefer questions rather than pitying looks. There's no point in feeling sorry for me.

My name is JOANNA

I am a volunteer specialist and administrative employee.

I have cerebral palsy

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I am an INDEPENDENT PERSON.

PAY IT FORWARD - Joanna M

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Jul 4, 2024
THE GENE OF INDEPENDENCE - Iga

By Filip Sobieszek | Project Leader

PAY IT FORWARD - Iga

“Teach me how to paint lines.” My friends often ask me about it. Because it's about those lines on the eyelids that shape the eye into an almond shape. And even though my hands are cramped, I draw lines perfectly. Not only those on the eyelids.

I've had 7 surgeries.

Most of them were when I was a child. All of them improved my impaired joints. The seventh one, at the beginning of junior high school, made it easier for me to walk on my feet. Because my heels were already curving upwards... I was born with this disease and I will die with it. Only rehabilitation holds it back. Exercises and daily activities help me move on my own.

I was not an "ITC* child". ( *individual teaching course)

I went to kindergarten and primary and secondary schools with other children. I started my university studies after graduating from high school and I'm still studying. After graduating from the Academy of Applied Sciences in Konin, I have a bachelor's degree in social work and resocialization and a master's degree in sociotherapy. And now I am exploring the secrets of psychology at the Collegium Humanum in Warsaw.

I have been drawn to psychology since I was a child.

I was curious about what guides people when making decisions. What makes them happy, what makes them sad? How do they defend themselves? What do they feel inside? And do they show what they feel to people and the world?

After graduation, I discovered… letters.

These are beautifully written. I watched other people's hands create wonderful letter ornaments and I wanted to make them too. I taught myself calligraphy. From textbooks and videos. I practiced the patterns for hours. Not just letters but also perseverance. And my stiffening hand joints. Over time, I became so skilled at calligraphy that I started making money from it.

I broke up with my boyfriend and our future together.

I cried for a long time. When I stopped, I wrote to my friend, Ania, from the PAY IT FORWARD Foundation. About being fed up with sitting at home. "I'll see you at the Foundation tomorrow," Ania ordered. I had concerns. I knew the Foundation from my student internships. I didn't stay long then. I wasn't ready to help. However, I listened to my friends. This led me to work in a children's club. First as a volunteer. And after half a year, I became the coordinator of the entire Volunteer Center.

Empathetic and kind.

And also tolerant, understanding, patient, friendly, open and helpful. This is what a volunteer should be like. We have about 100 of them in the Foundation. They range in age from 13 to even 80 years old. Most students. However, each of our volunteers is different and colorful in their own way. They help our charges for various reasons. Out of necessity, for a good cause, not to waste time, to meet new people and feel needed.

Calligraphy in the Foundation is also useful.

When a diploma, a card or a letter needs to be written beautifully, not on a computer - I use my hands and markers. I forgot about my lost love. I opened up to something new. And also for my own family, home and psychotherapy office. Preferably with elements of felinotherapy, i.e. cat therapy. I have 4 of them. I love all animals. And I would adopt them all. Just like people.

My name is IGA.

I am a sociotherapist, social worker and coordinator of the Volunteer Center in the PAY IT FORWARD Foundation.

I suffer from arthrogryposis.

I am an INDEPENDENT PERSON.

PAY IT FORWARD - Iga

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Jun 6, 2024
THE GENE OF INDEPENDENCE - Mateusz

By Filip Sobieszek | Project Leader

PAY IT FORWARD - Mateusz

A moment of inattention, a slip and a "landing" on the side of the road. This was my 2nd motorcycle accident. I was sure that after 3 months I would be healthy. Just like after the first one. It took me a long time to realize that I would no longer be able to drive a motorcycle or stand on my feet.

200 meters.

My accident took place so close to my home, in a small Olszyce in Podkarpacie. So small that I couldn't find a job there. They didn't need a 26-year-old boy with a culinary degree in the region. So I arranged a seasonal job in Belgium. That day, at the end of August 2018, I returned to Poland. I went for a ride just to "air up" the motorcycle.

A boy was holding my head.

Someone called for help. A rescue helicopter arrived and took me to the hospital in Rzeszów. There I underwent surgery on my spinal cord, which was severed at the chest level. I came to consciousness a few days after the crash. Then they told me everything.

I won't walk again.

My mother was afraid to tell me about it. Doctors also did not give me the details. I talked to patients. I searched on the Internet. For a long time I had hope that the paralysis would go away. And for a long time I underestimated fully able hands.

I tried everything.

Rehabilitation in private centers. Exercises and walking in exoskeletons. Then a stem cell transplant. I called a clinic in Thailand. They wanted 300,000 zloty for the neuromodulator. They did not guarantee that I would move even one finger. I grabbed many lifelines. All for nothing.

Block of flats without an elevator.

Before the accident I lived in an apartment on the 2nd floor. I returned to it. I exercised several times a week, "stared" at the TV and browsed the Internet. There I found hope. It was July 2019.

"Come to Konin!"

I heard that after sending the application and an online interview. People from the PAY IT FORWARD Foundation offered me a 12-week stay in a training apartment, rehabilitation, independence training and other necessary help. Everything for free. I only had to pay for the food. I was suspicious. I've paid for everything so far. I was expecting a catch, but there wasn't one.

But there was a "deep water" approach.

Wash the clothes and iron them. Do some shopping, prepare food. Everything by myself. I admit that these "kitchen matters" were the most difficult. And I had to travel by the bus to classes. I thought I was travelling alone. I found out later that I was being "followed" by a vigilant instructor. This is how they taught me independence.

I stayed in Konin.

I returned home for a short time. To prove to my mother that I can handle an independent life. I rented an apartment and bought a car. I used it to commute to work at the Foundation. First as a volunteer, then an intern, and after obtaining a diploma of a sports instructor for disabled people - as an employee.

I don't plan for the future.

I am happy with what I have. Work, my own apartment and my Weronika. I also found her thanks to the Foundation. Such a paradox. I had to break my back to straighten my life out.

My name is MATEUSZ.

I am an independent living instructor.

I am a quadriplegic.

I am an INDEPENDENT PERSON.

PAY IT FORWARD - Mateusz

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