The Long Road Back, with Gabi 💪

Ten months ago, Aleks was wheeled into a 10-hour operation involving more than 15 specialists from the Royal Brompton and Royal National Orthopaedic Hospitals. They removed what was left of "Grumpy Lumpy", and the surgical team called it a textbook success. But a textbook success doesn't put a six-year-old back together. That part takes time, repetition, and someone like Gabi.

Meet Gabi 💛

Gabi is Aleks's physiotherapist, and she is brilliant. Every week, she leads him through a session that looks deceptively gentle until you notice his face. Core work, balance, stretching, strength - she calibrates the exact intensity that keeps him engaged, just on the right side of difficult. He pushes through whatever she sets him because she knows when to push and when to laugh.

We've always known Aleks is an active little boy. Football, climbing, running, swimming, cycling - anywhere there's space, he's moving. That same engine is now the one driving his rehab.

The Work Between Sessions

A weekly hour with Gabi isn't enough on its own. At home, three times a week, we work through the routine she sends us off with. Some days he's all in. Other days we negotiate. Most days, somewhere in the middle of a stretch, he forgets he's doing physio and starts telling us about something else entirely - and that's when we know it's working.

His body is learning how to be his again. And honestly, given everything he's been through - chemotherapy, major surgery, proton beam therapy - the way he's bouncing back has surprised us in the best possible way. We can see it every day, in his posture, his stamina, his easy slide back into football.

Thank You, Gabi

Thank you for the patience, the laughter mid-plank, and for treating him like a small athlete in training rather than a patient in recovery. That distinction matters. He looks forward to seeing you, and we sleep a little better knowing he's in your hands.

Super proud of you, Olek. 💛