Fundraising by Valeria Miele

Hi we are Valeria and Hiessel, mom and dad from the "Nonno Oreste" family home in Rimini, and we are part of the Pope John XXIII community. We are here to tell you the story of our little friend Lucija...

An ancient African proverb says that if you dream alone the dream remains just a dream, if you dream together then the dream can become reality...we share then, with the intention of turning it into reality, Lucija's dream: to be able to have a life-changing operation. Lucija is 12 years old, like our first son Nahuel, together with whom she was baptized, and she is the daughter of our friends and groomsmen, Ivana and Roberto.

Like our children, from a very young age Lucija has been living and sharing her life in a family home together with children who need a dad and a mom, with adults who are going through a difficult time, with young people struggling with difficult stories, with elderly people who no one wants...making true all the days the dream of dear Don Oreste Benzi to give a family to those who for various reasons do not have one.

Lucija has suffered since birth from congenital femoral/tibial hypoplasia in the right leg, a rare limb malformation that consists of a growth of the bones of the right leg inferior to the left leg, associated with a lack of cruciate ligament in the knee.

Currently, the dysmetria has exceeded 8 cm, and Lucija walks wearing an orthopedic shoe with a heavy elevation and, in order to be able to practice activities like peers, she has compensated, as far as she has been able, by walking on her toes. As her dysmetria increased and she became more aware of her disease, she also grew to feel great pain in feeling that she was not "being like others." Lucija longs to wear shoes like her friends and to participate freely in activities that she now faces with difficulty, such as a simple walk, and after which she feels pain in her hip, foot, and back as soon as the exertion is a little greater than normal.

Today the time has come for her to face a very demanding, invasive and painfulleg lengthening surgery, which will take a year of her life. If she did not have it done, she would face serious joint and back problems in the future.

The innovative methodology that will be used on Lucija is much less painful than the traditional one, but it has a cost of about €60,000 that is not supported by the National Health Service.

This is why, together with the big family of the Pope John XXIII community, we are here asking for help from you, from you...if each of us will contribute even with a little, very little, we will help Lucjia to transform her dream as a child into a beautiful reality that will allow her to live her youth fully and peacefully.

We really only need a little support...come on are you in?

You can support this project in two ways:

• Donate to our already active personal fundraiser: any contribution, even the smallest, will make a difference.
• If, on the other hand, you want to do something even bigger, activate a personal fundraiser and help us engage many new people we otherwise could not reach by asking your friends, family and colleagues to support you with a donation.