A teenager who has battled cancer for three years has completed 3,000 push-ups as part of a challenge to raise money for the charity that helped him.
Fifteen-year-old Adam Dabrowski, who is a student at Blessed Robert Catholic Voluntary Academy in Burton, took on the physical fundraiser with his dad Mariusz.
The father and son duo completed 3,000 push-ups each – 100 a day for 30 days – hoping to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Adam was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 12, at the end of Year 7, after becoming short of breath, even when lying down.
Tests revealed he had leukaemia and he faced an intensive nine-month course of chemotherapy, undergoing treatment three or four days a week following a two-week stay in hospital.
The treatment affected him physically and at one point he struggled to walk and could not even stand. He missed approximately half of the following three years of school and recently rang the bell at hospital in Nottingham after doctors said he was in remission.
Adam is now having monthly check ups and is at school full-time in Year 11, preparing for his GCSE exams next year.
He said: “It was at the end of Year 7 that I was struggling to breathe and I had some tests and was told it was leukemia. At that age I had no idea what that meant but I knew it was bad when my mum started to cry. I still didn’t know what it was.
“I went on steroids for 28 days as I had pneumonia and then I was given a three-year plan for chemotherapy. It was also happening at the time of Covid so I had to be really careful to avoid infections.
“I lost most of my muscle mass and my grandma had to come over from Poland to help look after me. I was having trouble getting up the stairs, trouble even standing, I was really weak.
“I missed a lot of school but after the first nine months I then went down to having chemotherapy every day in tablets, weekly blood tests, chemotherapy once a month in hospital as well as having to take steroids, and lumbar puncture every three months. I really struggled to concentrate; I was just not myself. I think during that whole time there were only two or three weeks when I felt pretty good.
“In September I rang the bell at the hospital and now I’ll be having monthly check-ups.”
A celebration was held in school to mark the fact that Adam is in remission and all of the staff attended. Adam’s mum Paulina and his dad both attended the emotional occasion.
His dad Mariusz suggested that the pair take on the charity push-up challenge.
Adam said: “When I started to get stronger I went to the gym and at the end of Year 9 I was going to the gym more and working hard. I ended up gaining a lot of weight that I needed to lose so I thought the charity challenge would be a good idea and it’s to help the charity that helped me. The Teenage Cancer Trust helped to provide a teen room at the hospital and I’m sure at some point I would have spoken to someone from the Trust.”
Adam and his dad completed 3,000 push-ups each at home.
Adam said: “As the days went on I found I could do 40 to 50 push ups in one go. I’m just excited to feel like myself now and I can live my life like kids my age do.”
Adam’s mum and dad said: “We are proud of Adam’s strength and resilience and are happy that he is a part of the wonderful Blessed Robert Sutton Family. It seems now like ages ago but we remember every moment of his journey. We cannot thank the doctors and nurses enough who looked after our son for the whole time and we feel blessed to have such wonderful souls around us who made Adam’s day-to-day life easier.”
Samuel Gray, Headteacher at Blessed Robert Sutton, said: “As the new Head I was so sad to hear of Adam’s journey yet it has been so inspiring to see him around school smiling and with so many friends around him. To now embark on a mission to support others like him is truly inspiring.”
Amanda Mcdowall, Adam’s Head of Year, said: “From the moment we found out in school how ill Adam was no-one could believe it. Adam is a lively popular, hardworking, lovely lad and a real little gentleman. There was no sense to it and no getting your head round it.
“Of course cancer doesn’t discriminate but it doesn’t stop you thinking how could this happen to such a wonderful young person. I cannot imagine how it must have been for his parents.
“Adam was able to come into school very occasionally and under strict guidelines from the hospital. He still continued to try to keep up with his studies despite being told by numerous staff this was not his priority.
“It has been a three-year battle for Adam and his family but when we learnt he was being invited into hospital to ring the bell for his last treatment and that he was officially free from so much of the invasive medication, many of the staff were in tears.
“Adam is a true hero and a real inspiration to those who are privileged to know him. We could not be more proud of him and wish him all the very best.”
If you would like to donate to the push-up challenge click the link Mariusz Dabrowski is fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust
The above photos are of Adam at school and the third photo is of Adam when he was being treated in hospital, in a teen room provided by the Teenage Cancer Trust.
