The player of Slask Wroclaw wrote a few days ago on his Facebook profile:
"For an athlete, winning an Olympic medal is a lifetime dream coming true. The most precious is the gold one, obviously. I did everything in my power to get it... unfortunately, this time I didn't succeed. However, I was given a chance to increase the value of my silver.
Shortly after the competition, Gosia, the mother of the little Olek, wrote me, asking for help in saving her son. For almost two years, which is more than half of his life, Olek is struggling with eye cancer. Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumor of the eye, which occurs only in children under 5 years of age, as if purposefully targeting the weakest. In Poland, there is no chance now for saving Olek's eye; the only chance is therapy in New York.
I decided to help Olek and donate my Rio medal for auction. All proceeds will be spent on treating Olek. I also encourage all people of good will to contribute to the account, send text messages and help in any way possible. Let's help Olek's parents and family save his eye: #OcalicOkoOlka.
In Rio, I fought for gold. Today, I call all to join me in fighting for something that is even more valuable: the health of this wonderful boy. Everyone is welcome to participate in the auction at: http://bit.ly/2b41eXH . If you help me, my silver may become more valuable than gold for Olek."
Such a gesture met with great applause, not only of the fans of Piotr Malachowski. After three days, as many as 21 people auctioned the medal, and the amount reached 75 000 zloty.
Olek Szymanski was born on August 4, 2013 as a healthy and big boy, and received 10 points in the Apgar score. In December 2014 the boy's mother took him to the doctor because the boy started displaying the so called lazy eye. The initial diagnosis was a shock to everyone. Olek was diagnosed with a malignant cancer, retinoblastoma, on the left eyeball. The diagnosis was confirmed in Krakow. After a week, the boy already underwent the first cycle of chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, the boy can't hope to have his eye saved in Poland. If the collection for expensive surgery and therapy in the United States fails, amputation of the eyeball will be necessary.
We can all help. It's worth it! All charity auctions for Olek can be found here.
