Mia. Curly-haired beauty, whom fate treated unfairly. A young woman who loved to move – sports were a daily part of her life. She did gymnastics, folk and ballroom dancing, basketball, swimming, loved to ski, ice skate, and played the piano on top of all that. A jack of all trades.
It was Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. Fourth-grader Mia woke up with intense leg pain. Out of nowhere. It was crazy, it escalated very quickly and In a moment, Mia could no longer stand on her own. Her legs went numb. The frightened little girl was immediately hospitalized in Žilina, from where she was transferred to a hospital in Martin, and from there, still at night, she was transported to the capital. Mia was diagnosed with a spinal arteriovenous malformation that had bled into her spinal cord. In layman's terms, she had a congenital anomaly in her spinal cord – a pathological tangle of blood vessels that had „rebelled.“. This is a rare disease; statistics speak of one patient in a million.
There were many examinations. Once they arrived at a diagnosis based on an MRI, they had to operate immediately. In Bratislava, they performed a partial embolization (closing off one of the vessels), which was the only thing they could do at that moment. „We didn't know what would happen, we just prayed the condition would stabilize. That's what happened, and immediately our first battle began – to get back on our feet and learn to walk again,“ says mom Andrea.
Intensive rehabilitation paid off, Mia made huge progress, partly thanks to Her body was accustomed to movement. Her condition improved. After 2 intense months, Miuška was walking again. And after a long three months, she came home from the hospital. The joy was immense. Mia continued her rehabilitation with physiotherapists at home, strengthening her legs, practicing walking, and even riding a bicycle. Doctors had little experience with this rare diagnosis, but they agreed that if possible, it would be better to block off all the vessels from the AV malformation – embolize them, because the risk of re-bleeding into the spinal cord was high. „And we didn't want to experience that again, so in August 2024, Miuška underwent a 5-hour surgery.„ “But it probably wasn't successful since I stopped walking again,„ Mia assesses from her wheelchair and winks at her mother with her beautiful eyes. It was like a bad dream. The entire surgical procedure was performed with neuromonitoring, meaning the condition of the spinal cord was constantly monitored during the surgery to prevent damage. "They promised us they wouldn't take any risks; if the neuromonitoring signaled anything, they would abandon the embolization. However, after waking up, Mia couldn't move her right leg at all, and by the next day, not her left one either.". “We didn't understand anything; it was challenging physically, but also mentally.“ The postoperative MRI confirmed swelling of the spinal cord and partial ischemia of the spinal cord, meaning insufficient blood supply, which is irreversible damage. "No one dared to give us a prognosis, precisely because of the ischemia, the condition is more serious," explains mother Andrea, whose daughter is once again dependent on care and a wheelchair.
The only chance is rehabilitation, professional and intensive. „I believe I will walk. I have to. I want to...“ says the 11-year-old girl who ADELI underwent unique Cyber Therapy using a robotic exoskeleton. It is a great hope for her that her legs will be „awakened.“ After the first stay, she noticeably strengthened, but she needs to continue rehabilitation. „For every millimeter of progress we are immensely grateful, Mia already knows that getting back on her feet will be slow, that she will have to arm herself with great patience. She is a great hero.“
„It was perfect. I believe exoskeleton training will move me closer to my dream of walking again. I enjoyed it,“ Mia simply and unequivocally assesses before to ADELI CyberTherapy needs to return. We believe there will be people who will support Mia with their contribution., so it approaches walking on its own.
