‘Christmas Miracle’ as Bognor barbershop raises nearly £3,000 for ten-year-old’s life-changing treatment

A ‘Christmas Miracle’ took place on December 24 as The Man Barbershop, on Linden Road, raised nearly £3,000 for a ten-year-old boy with a life-changing neurological conditions.

The boy, 10-year-old, Adrian Wieclawski, suffers from PANDAS disease and Aceruloplasminemia, which leads to severe depression, anxiety, panic attacks, reduced social skills and involuntary muscle contractions.

Since treatment is not available on the NHS, Adrian’s family have been sending him to a specialist clinic in Ukraine for the last two years. The £2,867 raised by The Man Barbershop will go towards the £40,000 needed to continue his vital care.

“It’s very difficult to describe how I feel. It’s amazing that there are people with such big hearts out there, people who want to do something for my child,” said Magdalena Stanke, Adrian’s mum. “It’s unreal, if I’m honest. Because these people worked all day to raise that money. It’s almost like a Christmas miracle.”

The fundraiser, which took place on December 24, featured hot food, live music and a raffle with prizes donated by a variety of local businesses, including Mitchell’s Travel, which offered up two holiday vouchers worth £250 for the raffle. Other sponsors, like PRL Nursing and Homecare Services, EF Bakers ltd, Body Custom Tattoo, Beyond Beauty and Rafal Miscinkowski Air Conditioning also contributed to the event.

Barbers Slaw Borkowski, Halkaout Dukan, Rako Ahmedia and Dan Weller were also on hand to offer haircuts, proceeds from which were directly donated to Adrian’s fundraiser.

“It was really great, to be honest, we almost made £3,000. It really felt like everyone was part of a team.” Said Slawek Borkowski, one of the owners of The Man Barbershop. “We were really happy with the amount we raised. Obviously we were hoping it would be £3,000, but we were really close to that target anyway.”

“Adrian was very excited about it,” Mrs Stanke said. “I told him there was a party being held and that everyone was coming along for him.”

If all things go well, Adrian is due to go back to Ukraine for continued care in January. To find out more about his conditions and to donate to his family’s ongoing fundraiser, click here.