Just hours after celebrating his 19th birthday, Matt, my brother, was involved in a horrific bike accident. While cycling through a field, he hit a ramp at high speed and was thrown violently to the ground. Alone, injured, and miles from help, he lay there until a passer-by found him and called for an ambulance.
Matt was rushed to a local hospital, then transferred to a regional centre in Romania where he underwent a 5-hour emergency spinal surgery. “Your spinal cord is crushed. The chances you walk immediately after surgery are 2%,” the doctors said. A week later, he’s still struggling just to sit upright.
Before the accident, Matt was passionate about sport, music, and foreign affairs. He had plans to celebrate his birthday in Paris with his friends, and to take his final exams in June. Now, he’s facing the unimaginable: potential total paralysis from the waist down, and a long, uncertain road ahead.
Matt is my little brother. We were raised by our mother after our father died when Matt was only seven. He never got to experience the small but important things - a dad’s jokes, advice, or even a first pint together. And now, he’s facing the biggest challenge of his young life.
Despite the odds, we’re holding on to hope. With intensive rehabilitation, there is a chance Matt could regain some mobility. We’ve managed to fund two months of treatment at a private rehab centre in Iași, Romania, his home country. He needs £2,600 every two weeks for this specialised rehabilitation.
Ideally, we’d love to send him to a clinic in Austria or Switzerland, where they offer some of the world’s most advanced spinal rehab programs. This would entail further costs.
We can’t do this alone. We’re reaching out for your help - to give Matt a fighting chance to walk again, to reclaim some of the happy future any 19 year old deserves. Every donation, no matter how small, brings him closer to hope and healing.
Donations will fund his specialised rehabilitation treatment and any equipment or adjustments to his living environment which might be required as a result of his injuries.
How you can help:
- Donate whatever you can. Every penny counts.
- Share this campaign far and wide - on social media, in group chats, and with anyone who might help.
- Offer leads on funding programs or organisations that support spinal injury rehabilitation.
- Reach out if you're a medical professional with advice or connections in spinal care.
Thank you in advance for generosity and support.
His loving sister,
Eve
Organizer
Evelina Chirica
Organizer