The beautiful story of how an Olympian’s generosity helped a baby she didn’t even know

You probably have never heard of Maria Magdalena Andrejczyk, an Olympic pole vaulter from Poland.

After reading her inspiring story, you probably won’t ever forget her.

In an increasingly dark world, where a madman in the White House last week again insulted and threatened our beautiful home and native land, where tens of thousands of innocent children and women are getting massacred in Gaza, we need an uplifting story to bring us some light.

This wonderful story begins in 2016, when Andrejczyk came agonizingly close to an Olympic medal in pole vaulting. She missed getting onto the podium by a mere two centimetres. In 2018 she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Thanks to her determination and perseverance, she recovered from the cancer and qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She vaulted to a silver medal.

From overcoming cancer to winning an Olympic medal is an amazing journey in and of itself, but it’s only the beginning of Andrejczyk’s beautiful story.

Just a few weeks after winning her Olympic silver medal, she sees the online pleas from Polish parents who are in desperate need of money to fly their baby son to the U.S. for life-saving heart surgery. Their 8-month-old boy had a heart defect and their situation was dire. They needed $325,000 to get their son the surgery that could save his young life.

Andrejczyk then makes a profoundly touching decision that is almost impossible to comprehend. She puts her silver medal up for auction to raise money for the sick infant.

“It is with the greatest pleasure that I am handing over… my medal, which to me is a symbol of faith and perseverance in the face of great obstacles… The true value of a medal always remains in the heart,” Andrejczyk said. “A medal is only an object, but it can be of great value to others. This silver can save lives, instead of collecting dust in a closet. That is why I decided to auction it to help sick children.”

Just think about that. You work, sweat and toil your entire life in the dream of trying to win an Olympic medal, but then, because you are kind and generous and compassionate, you willingly and lovingly give away what you’ve worked so incredibly hard to attain, to grant a baby boy she didn’t know — Miloszek Malysa — a chance to live.

A polish grocery store, Zabka, had the winning bid of $125,000. The family had already raised a bunch of money and the $125,000 from the Olympic medal auction was enough to get the total needed for transportation and the procedure at Stanford Medical Center.

But this amazing story doesn’t end there. The grocery chain was so moved by Andrejczyk’s incredible compassion and her selfless act of unimaginable kindness, that they gave the Olympic silver medal back to Maria.

“We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture of our Olympian, so we decided to support the fundraiser for Miloszek,” Zabka tweeted. “We also decided the silver medal will remain with Mrs. Maria.”

Sadly, this inspirational story does not have a fairy tale ending. Young Miloszek died at the age of three.

While Miloszek tragically is no longer with us, the heartfelt kindness shown by Maria Andrejczyk and the Polish grocery chain Zabka in trying to save the young boy’s life, reminds us that people are capable of remarkable acts of compassion.