On Tuesday 28th April 2026, my sister Marzena was involved in a very serious accident while sightseeing World War I bunkers on the outskirts of Warsaw.

She took a wrong step and fell approximately 6 metres (around 20 feet) down a vertical shaft.

The injuries were severe. She broke both legs, completely shattered both feet, and suffered a compressed spinal disc.

Emergency services rescued her from the site and rushed her to hospital, where she underwent a 6-hour surgery. Surgeons had to insert metal plates and wires into her legs and feet to stabilise the damage.

If all goes well, she will be discharged on Monday — but this is only the beginning of a long and difficult recovery.

For at least the next three months, she will need daily nurse visits at home just to manage wound care and dressing changes. After that, if her recovery progresses well, she may begin to take her first steps again.

She will then face months of painful and intensive physiotherapy to relearn how to walk and rebuild her strength.

All of this comes with significant costs.

To help support her recovery, I’m setting myself a challenge alongside her journey:

– I will run 5K when she takes her first steps

– I will run 10K when she walks her first mile

– I will run a half marathon when she goes for her first independent walk

– I will run a full marathon when she returns to full strength

Every step she takes, I’ll match with a run of my own.

If you’re able to support Marzena in any way, no matter how small, it would mean the world to us. And if you can’t donate, sharing this page would help more than you know.

Thank you for taking the time to read her story.