Kristof wears his smile like a shield. When you look at him, you see a mischievous boy with blond hair, eyes like two tiny beads of ryegrass that radiate light, and a wide grin revealing that the Tooth Fairy has visited him not long ago.

Only when you get to know him better do you realize that his little head is filled with thoughts too loud for a seven-year-old. Why am I different? Will I ever be able to walk? He doesn’t understand why people always ask him what happened, why his classmates leave him out of their games, why he’s the only one left sitting alone at his desk when the bell rings.

Kristof was the third joy of his parents, their youngest child. At birth, no one could have predicted that he would go through exhausting chemotherapy sessions, a complicated surgery for a tumor on his spine, and countless therapies. For four out of his seven years, Kristof fought to live.

For his mother, the news that her son would have to use a wheelchair was devastating. But even more painful was hearing her tiny child say that he wished he could die because he couldn’t move around like the others.

“When I first heard about the wheelchair, I said I didn’t want to see such a thing in my house. But then, when I saw how much it helped Kristof and how happy it made him, I accepted it,” recalls Klaudia, Kristof’s mother.

Adi, from the Motivation team in Satu Mare, was the first person in a wheelchair Kristof ever met. Then came the children from the active rehabilitation camp he attended this summer. They played together, laughed together, and for once, he didn’t feel excluded. Some of the questions that had been tormenting him faded away. For Kristof, the best memories are of practicing his wheelchair skills on ramps. A true speedster, he’s hard to catch once he gains momentum.

With the wheelchair we donated, it’s easier for him to be everywhere he wants to be: at school, in the yard, with little Luna—his puppy—in the kitchen to see what delicious treats his mother is making, and around the household, happy that he can lend a helping hand to his father.

Over the years, Kristof’s needs will change. We will stand by him to provide the mobility solutions he requires. You can help too, with a donation.

Here are some photos of Kristof, capturing him on an ordinary day.
Photo credit: Mircea Reștea