Help me give my wife the best life she can have with ALS

Hello Friend!

You likely found this fundraiser because we know each other or one of my friends forwarded it to you. Either way your help is greatly appreciated in the toughest time in my life.

In the beginning of 2025, our lives got turned upside down in the worst way. After more than a year of looking for the cause of what was happening my wife Paulina, we finally got the answer in early 2025. It was the most difficult message that I have ever heard to learn that my wife was suffering from ALS.

For more than a year and a half she experienced symptoms like, weakening neck muscles, losing more than 10kg of body weight and severe reduction in muscle mass in her legs, arms and back as well as declining mobility. We were going form doctor to doctor to find out what was happening to her. When we finally got the answer, it was devastating to our entire family.

Why? Why her?

Paulina is and always was a very outgoing people person. For more than 20 years she taught literature at the university of Warsaw focusing on the empowerment of women through the analysis of literary works. She loved inspiring young minds and has inspired thousands during her time at the university. She also coordinated the creation of matriculation exams for 7 ethnic and cultural minorities in Poland. Last year she started a new job at a private university, but in September she had to resign for medical reasons. In April of this year, she was not able to continue her contract in the secondary job and has ended it.

We met in elementary school (in Poland) and became close friends. After 2 years I left Poland to live in Canada. We met again 16 years later when I was visiting family in Poland and connected deeply on a shared frequency. After 4 years of on an offs we decided to give it a shot and I moved back to Poland.

Nearly 17 years passed since that time and we built a strong bond in our patchwork family, living together and raising Paulina’s son from her first marriage. In 2015 we had our daughter, who will soon be 10 years old.

Things were not always perfect, but we decided to work on working it out and focusing on personal development to build a happy family and raise our wonderful daughter to be a smart and strong woman.

While Paula’s health and abilities have been declining, we have been finding ways to be together and make the best of each day.

Towards the end of last year we knew that the issue was neurological. After a weeklong stay in hospital in Nov. 2024 for neurological tests the diagnosis was inconclusive.

A second March '25 stay in the hospital gave a more precise answer - ALS. The news was very tough and Paula's psyche was affected by the news, which further made each day that much more difficult.

We have always looked on the bright side of life but it was tough to keep positive as each week brought a further decline in physical abilities. It was more difficult for Paula to keep her head up, eat, drink and go outside for longer than 10 minutes.

At the beginning of July ‘25 ,Paula got an infection, which has affected her already weakened internal muscle system and she was not able to eat and drink enough to be ok. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance with severe dehydration and maturation, and got qualified for a gastrostomy. She waited for the procedure for three days not eating anything until 3pm and not much after (having gone from 6-7 meals a day) before the infection. During the procedure her breathing collapsed and needed an emergency tracheotomy.

Paula is now home after spending more than 10 days in the hospital with 80% less mobility than before the infection. She requires 24h care, spending most of her time in bed. When she's out of bed, she sits in a wheelchair with permanent ventilation.

I love her very much and have committed to providing her with all of the care that she requires to continue having the best quality of life possible in the current state. In the last 6 months I have also taken over everything required to care for our daughter Malwa.

In the last year as Paula was getting weaker we have just barely managed to hold on, on our own but the rising medical, rehabilitation, therapy and household help costs as well as declining earnings have taken their toll. With some help from our families, we were able to get this far with me being the main person taking care of Paula while still caring for our daughter, who has a very difficult time coming to terms how our lives have changed.

Because of time and level of activities required to care for my wife and daughter, my business has deteriorated to a level, that is not able to support us, much less cover the medical, rehabilitation and hired help costs. Our family is doing what they can but it’s not enough.

We did say to each other some 13 years ago ‘for better or for worse” and I need to be here for her. She needs my help and I need yours so that I can continue caring for my wife and still being able to cover our expenses and obligations.

Over the last 6 months we have already exhausted our borrowing abilities as well as the help of family and close friends.

I don't know how much more time we will have together but deeply count on it being long enough for the medical side to find a cure that can end this nasty disease.

For now, we are working together on bringing Paula's abilities as close as possible to the state before the infection, but this recovery is very slow.

I never expected to be in a situation, but we are in desperate times that require desperate measures.

I am asking my Canadian friends for support both directly and by forwarding this request to other kind souls that you know.

Thank you for reading our story and thank you, should you choose to offer your support, that will allow me to continue being by my wife's side when she needs it the most.

Paul