A Vilnius resident who felt the symptoms of rotavirus heard the diagnosis of a deadly disease – he himself could not believe it



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Danielius Savickas was interested in sports from a young age: as a child he started karting, and when he was 16 years old he started riding a scooter and tried small tracks. The guy living in Vilnius says he liked this activity right away, so the 20-year-olds retained the category A rights and started riding a motorcycle regularly. In 2017, a young man who worked at the bank started participating in small sporting events and got “hooked.”

(7 photos)

PHOTO GALLERY. Danielius Savickas

Unexpected diagnosis

When Daniel began to establish himself in the sport of motorcycling, something happened that he had never expected. In late 2017, the boy began to feel ill after experiencing rotavirus symptoms and went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“At first I did not even suspect that it could be a serious illness. I started to feel very tired, I was sweating a lot while sleeping, it seemed like I was always very tired. My work was pretty heavy at the time, so I thought all the symptoms were due to overwork. At first I didn’t understand him, but seeing that the further away, the more difficult it was, I changed jobs.

Unfortunately, the fatigue did not go away, one day I felt very bad, the symptoms of the rotavirus began. It was very bad and led me to the contagious with a fast where I found rotavirus. He began to treat me, but when I noticed that my blood count was too poor as a simple virus, I found myself in the Department of Hematology at Clinicas Santara. It was all very strange, “recalls Daniels.

The first night in the hospital, when he still did not know his diagnosis, the Vilnius resident was shocked. The resident brought him sheets indicating that the boy was awaiting chemotherapy. Daniel says he thought it was a mistake that these sheets weren’t for him, but the next morning doctors reported that his tests showed signs of leukemia.

“I heard the diagnosis and the first question was if it was curable. They told me they were healing me and then I calmed down a bit, trying to explain the whole course of treatment. I did everything possible to get out of this disease. Of course, there were those thoughts: why did it happen and why to me, but I tried not to pedal and think about that, because it is useless, ”says the boy.

Daniel tried to stay calm, focus on what he could do to make things easier for the doctors and make him feel better for himself. It was important to follow the same regimen every morning to control her weight. According to Vilnius, in the face of such a terrifying diagnosis, the most important thing is to stay calm and listen to the doctors, not to try to improvise, and also to deal with your own methods.

Daniel remembers the words of one of his neighborhood friends well and fully agrees with them. He told the guy that the disease was on the man’s mind.

“If a person feels convinced that everything is wrong, that he feels very bad, that he cannot do anything, then there is a good chance that the person will not recover, and if a person has a strong desire to recover, he believes that everything will be fine, it is often like that. and it happens. I tried to follow such a positive attitude, “explains the Vilnius resident.

Danielius Savickas

The disease did not deter motorcycle sports

Before learning of the illness, Daniel was already in a motorcycle race and it was going very well. After hearing that he had cancer, the boy did not want to give up his favorite sport. When chemotherapy was started in January 2018, remission was achieved in April. Doctors have warned that there is a very high risk that the disease will return and that a bone marrow transplant is necessary. The preparation for the operation lasted about three weeks and during that time Daniel managed to participate in up to two motorcycle races.

“I thought that those three weeks of free treatment that I wanted to use in a meaningful way, I tried what I had not tried. The plan was just to test the track and not participate in any races, but it went well and I thought I wanted to try my luck.

I did very well, I finished second and it was very high motivation because I was just after three blocks of chemotherapy, arm tremors, leg tremors, and I outperformed completely healthy people, proving to myself that I really can do a lot. I also won second place in other races. I remember both family members and doctors trying to persuade me not to run, but I really wanted to. After winning the awards and the mood for the transplant was much better, ”says the boy.

Faced with a serious illness, the Vilnius resident did not break. The boy says that he wanted to spend as much time as possible in the hospital, the support of his loved ones and the setting of certain goals helped deflect bad thoughts. Daniel had a plan that after beating the disease, he would continue to compete on motorcycles and look for a new motorcycle. The development of plans for the future helped Vilnius a lot, making it clear that this bad situation is only temporary:

“There was a lot of support from family and friends, and I also tried to create comfortable conditions in the neighborhood. The doctors allowed me to buy a Playstation game and a computer. For a while, a friend in my neighborhood was a boy of the same age, so we found something to talk about and interesting activities with him. I tried not to think that I had reached some end of the bridge and that it was just a stopover. Some people in the oncology ward think it’s already a death sentence, but it certainly isn’t. “

The operation was successful

Cancer treatment is tough and long, so the guy makes no secret that he was a bit scary. In the ward, the Vilnius resident met many new patients and spoke with them a lot. Some patients scared Daniel with their stories, but he tried hard not to think about it. Before the transplant it was not really easy, the young man’s entire body was in maximum tension. Daniel says that what scared him the most was not the operation itself, but the preparation for it: chemotherapy and a central catheter placed under the collarbone. There was a lot of worry, but the boy assured himself that it would all be over soon.

After the operation, the guy still had to stay in the hospital for a while. The operation was performed on May 30 and Daniel was discharged from the hospital around July.

“I found that everything went well after a while, only a doctor came and said that the indicators were improving, the donor stem cells started working and soon he could start receiving treatment at home,” says the Vilnius resident. .

Although the young man now feels good, he is still in no rush to rejoice in the victory over cancer. The official medical victory awaits the boy 5 years after the announcement of the remission. 3 years have passed.

“The last time I spoke with the doctor, they told me that I could see myself as a really healthy person, but I still try to take care of my health, to follow the established regimen. I would say that many battles against the disease have been won, but the entire war is not over yet. I have accepted the fact that once I was diagnosed with cancer, I am trying to take care of my health, but now I want to enjoy life ”, the boy opens.

Another wound

Shortly after the transplant, Daniel got back on the bike and stayed one step away from the podium in the first race after the operation. However, the next race was not so pleasant. Unfortunately, the guy did not smile successfully again, and about a month after his discharge from the hospital in Kačerginė on the Nemunas ring, a Vilnius resident had an accident.

“I boiled very hard, my left leg was seriously injured, I broke my ligaments. Feeling the adrenaline, I still tried to stop, keep driving, but saw my knees buckle sideways as I walked and realized that the race was over. After this injury, I could not move for several months, there was a bed-wheelchair regime ”, says the young man about the injury.

The desire to sit on a motorcycle did not disappear, after a rehabilitation course and walking, the boy bought a new motorcycle, began training and participated in a small competition. Seeing that he was going for a spin, he began to prepare for the 2020 season.

Danielius Savickas

The winning cup will be donated to the donor.

Only two years after his diagnosis, Daniel began driving at full capacity. In 2020, he managed to reach first place in the endurance competition with a teammate. This guy wants to give this mug to a very important person:

“I want to give this cup to my bone marrow donor. He was the third member of our team to be able to drive and pursue my dreams. “

In the following 2020 races, Daniel did very well and became the Baltic Motorcycle Association Street Superbike champion. There were also difficulties on the way to the champion title, for the first time after the accident the boy had to drive on the Nemunas ring track in Kačerginė. Vilnius says it was not easy to decide to go there:

“One stage of the championship took place in Kačerginė, on the same track where my accident took place. In fact, I was a little scared to get there, I had promised myself before that I would never go there again. That accident really left me with psychological problems, it was hard to bear, but I still decided to ride. I drove very concentrated and won first place. “

Daniel’s inspiring story shows that even when faced with cancer, one cannot give up. The boy urges other people who have heard the same diagnosis to believe that everything will be fine:

“The most important thing is not to give up, you always have to believe that you are going to win. You must listen to the instructions of the doctors, always have goals, fight for something in life to be able to direct your thoughts somewhere. You cannot think that the disease is for life, because in reality it is not, you have to move on and never discard yourself. “



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