Ashki

Norbert is 16 years old. He is deaf. He sits at the table, takes paper, and makes flowers from it. Then he sells them. He is not saving for a phone, a vacation, or his dreams. He is saving for his dog’s treatment.

Flower by flower, he tries to collect 50 thousand zlotys, because that’s how much a chance to save Ashkiego might cost.

And perhaps that’s where this story should begin.

Ashki is 9 years old and is a dog who has everything we would wish for any animal — a home, a family, and people for whom he is not an addition to life, but a part of it. A special bond connects him with Norbert. For the deaf boy, Ashki has been a friend, confidant, and therapist for years. A companion with whom you don’t need to talk to understand each other perfectly. A dog who simply is. Beside him. Every day.

Until recently, nothing indicated that this ordinary, good daily life could suddenly hang by a thread. Ashki was a healthy, full-of-life dog. When swelling appeared on his muzzle, no one thought the worst. A vet, an antibiotic, dental problems — it was supposed to be manageable. Teeth were removed. It didn’t help. More were removed. The swelling was still there.

The family began searching for answers. A CT scan brought the one they feared most. Cancer. Suspected osteosarcoma. Then a biopsy and the first good news in many weeks, although it’s hard to use the word “good” here at all. The cancer was confirmed, but the diagnosis was different — squamous cell carcinoma. Ashki got something he almost didn’t have a moment earlier.
A chance for treatment.

The family seized it immediately. Ashki came under the care of an oncologist. Subsequent visits, tests, medications, and commutes to the clinic in Wrocław began — twice a week, 100 kilometers one way. So far, his loved ones have already spent over 8 thousand zlotys. The medications he now has to take constantly alone cost about 2 thousand monthly.

Savings ran out. The disease — did not. Ashki faces proper oncological treatment. The cost of therapy that gives him a chance is about 35 thousand zlotys. An alternative is palliative care, which costs about 18 thousand zlotys. It will not stop the disease. It can only buy Ashki time without pain and suffering.

For his family, both amounts are unattainable today. Not because they don’t want to fight. They have been fighting since day one. The thing is, in this home, money is needed not only for Ashki. Norbert requires rehabilitation, which also costs. And suddenly, his parents found themselves in a place where no parents should be: on one hand, the treatment and rehabilitation of a child, on the other — the life of an animal that has been connected with this child for years and has itself become part of his therapy, his sense of security, his world.

It’s impossible to fairly place this on two scales. It’s impossible to calculate how much another month of Norbert’s rehabilitation is worth and how much another summer with Ashki by his side is worth. It’s impossible to tell parents: choose. And yet, when bills, dates of subsequent visits, and the already empty place where savings once were lie on the table, such a choice begins to become very real.

That’s why the family turned to the Centaurus Foundation for help. And we decided that we would try to bear this burden with them.

We don’t know how much time Ashki might get. We don’t know how his body will respond to treatment. With cancer, no responsible person gives guarantees. However, we know that doctors see the possibility of therapy. That Ashki has a chance. And that it would be terribly unfair if it were taken away from him just because his family has already spent everything they had.

We need 35 thousand zlotys so they can fight for his life. If the full amount cannot be raised — we need at least 18 thousand to provide him with palliative care and not let him suffer in pain.

It’s a lot. But Norbert doesn’t ask if it’s too much. He sits down and makes another paper flower.

Maybe a bit uneven. Maybe the next one will turn out more beautiful. Then another one and another one. He sells them and saves the money, because in his world, the calculation is simple: Ashki is sick, so he needs to be saved.

There’s something about this that’s hard to ignore. A sixteen-year-old boy cannot perform a CT scan, administer chemotherapy, or plan therapy. He cannot find 35 thousand zlotys. He can make a flower from paper.

So he does. And then another.
Let’s not leave him alone at that table.

Let Norbert continue making his flowers, but no longer with the feeling that the life of his best friend depends on the number of paper petals sold.

Let’s try to do the rest together.

For Ashkiego. And for the boy who folds paper flowers, because that’s how he fights for someone he loves.

Update 4.09.2026

Dear Donors,

thanks to your support, our DOG FRIEND Ashki is comprehensively and very well cared for by specialist veterinarians. In addition to the previously administered combined pain therapy consisting of two drugs (previcox and gabapentin), the veterinary oncologist recommended treating Ashkiego with an oral chemotherapeutic agent administered at home (Palladia).

After less than a month of treatment with this drug, it is clear to see that Ashki responds well to it and the tumor is not growing at the same rate as before (even our local vet sees improvement), nevertheless, he will have to take it for the rest of his life, alongside the aforementioned painkillers.

The number of medications taken means that we have to check the condition of his blood, kidneys, and liver every 2 weeks, which also generates costs. Naturally, we don’t forget about protective medications! Following a consultation at RTWet in Miedniewice, the doctor recommended 2 additional medications: Librella 20 mg as an injection and zoledronic acid as an infusion lasting a minimum of 20 minutes. Ashki will receive the Librella medication any moment, while the pharmacy has to order zoledronic acid, as it is a human drug designed to cement bone that is being dissolved by the infiltrating tumor.

Thanks to the prescribed treatment, Ashki is doing very well and bravely fighting for his life. We are waiting for the results of follow-up tests to be sure that everything is in order, as he is in great spirits and has a good appetite, and we are quietly hoping that the tests will confirm this.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the support already shown and ask for continued support, so that Ashki can continue to enjoy a pain-free, happy dog’s life.