The mother of one-in-a-million baby Victoria Komada has penned an emotional letter as she faces the prospect of seeing her only child have her legs amputated.
After the people of Norwich successfully raised more than £13,000 for an operation to save her daughter's legs, mum Marzena Drusewicz is pleading for the generosity to continue.
Vicki was born with deformity tibial bilateral hemimelia, and the only hope for corrective surgery lies with Dr Dror Paley in Florida with a price tag of more than £300,000.
'Victoria cries, and I cry with her, from helplessness and despair because whether my child will or will not be disabled depends on money that I don't have,' wrote Ms Drusewicz.
'We didn't agree to the amputation. We were lucky. Dr Paley came to Poland invited by one of the charities. He had a close look at Victoria's legs, her RTG and her magnetic resonance. He smiled at us. What we heard next was a miracle - 'Your daughter will walk'. We were in tears again, this time from happiness and relief.
'Nobody in Poland or England could help Victoria; it is a condition so rare that nobody even knows how to treat it. We have applied to have it funded by the NHS, and are still awaiting a reply.
'We know we don't have a lot of time, as soon it may be too late. We want her to be treated while she's still little to save her the trauma of surgeries and pain.
'I watch my daughter suffer as she's starting to notice that she's different from other kids. Her cousins are running around the house while I hold her in my arms, how she tries to climb the bed but can't. I look at
Victoria's legs, so small they can fit in my hand. And I know I'll do all I can to save them. That's why I'm begging for help, because I know my child's future is in your hands. The amount of money we have to save is frightening but the fact we might not be quick enough and that somebody would amputate almost half of our child's body frightens us even more.
'We believe that she can win and overcome this awful condition she was born with. A story like Victoria's is one in a million, but pain and suffering doesn't have to be a part of it anymore.'
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