A true story – Elutek and Janusz
To prawdziwa opowieść o dwojgu ludzi, których los połączył w chwili, gdy najbardziej potrzebowali bliskości. Historia Elutka i Janusza to droga przez miłość, chorobę, strach, nadzieję i wiarę — od pierwszego spotkania, przez walkę z rakiem, sepsą i życiem na granicy śmierci, aż po chwile, które na nowo budują sens i siłę. — A true story of two people whose lives intertwined at a moment when they needed closeness the most. The story of Elutek and Janusz is a journey through love, illness, fear, hope and faith — from their first meeting, through the battle with cancer, sepsis and life on the edge of death, to the moments that rebuild meaning and strength.
Opisy zdjęć (polski)
Zdjęcie w headerze
Obraz przedstawia otwartą księgę z napisem „Other Stories”, leżącą na drewnianym biurku w otoczeniu świec, starych map, okularów, pióra i manuskryptów. Całość tworzy atmosferę dawnych opowieści, podróży i literackiej przygody. Ciepłe światło świec podkreśla fakturę papieru i nadaje scenie historyczno‑fantastyczny charakter, jakby księga była zbiorem zapomnianych historii czekających na odkrycie.
Zdjęcie wyróżniające
Spokojna, intymna scena ukazująca parę stojącą w delikatnym uścisku pod rozłożystą koroną drzewa. Ich sylwetki rysują się na tle miękko zachmurzonego, wieczornego nieba, tworząc atmosferę ciszy, refleksji i naturalnej bliskości — bez bezpośredniego ukazania zachodu słońca. Ujęcie emanuje spokojem, subtelnością i emocjonalną głębią.
Image descriptions (English)
Header image
The image depicts an open book with the inscription ‘Other Stories’ lying on a wooden desk surrounded by candles, old maps, glasses, a pen and manuscripts. The scene evokes an atmosphere of old tales, travels and literary adventure. The warm candlelight highlights the texture of the paper and gives the composition a historical‑fantastical character, as if the book were a collection of forgotten stories waiting to be discovered.
Featured image
A serene, intimate scene showing a couple standing in a gentle embrace beneath a wide tree canopy. Their silhouettes are set against a softly clouded evening sky, creating a calm, reflective atmosphere without revealing direct details of the sunset. The moment feels peaceful, natural and quietly emotional.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
Isaiah 43:2
There are moments that change us forever — quiet, inconspicuous, yet groundbreaking. This story begins in one such moment, when life slowed down and we had to learn to look at ourselves differently. When you're ready for the next part, just call out.
At the time, we did not know how much our lives would change — nor how much we would have to learn to stick together when everything around us began to shake. It was a quiet, ordinary moment, yet one full of meaning that we only understood later.
It was a time when everything was just beginning to take shape — slowly, uncertainly, but with a sense that something important, though as yet unspoken, lay ahead of us.
When their paths crossed
They met online. Renata had recently moved from Poland to the United Kingdom. As they say, to earn a living. Zbyszek had already been living there for several years. He was lonely and his heart was broken after his previous relationship. She was even more battered by life.
They both created accounts on Badoo. It was a website for meeting new people and chatting with them, but in reality, it was a place where people mostly looked for casual sex. Sometimes, however, people who were looking for something more than just fleeting physical contact ended up there. That was the case with him. He was looking, once again, for the one and only.
She was different. She couldn't see herself in a stable and permanent relationship. She was afraid that the past would repeat itself.
The time that built their love
Two years passed. It was a wonderful time. They got to know each other better. They travelled around England and Wales whenever they had the opportunity, and red roses were always with them. They began to talk gently about moving in together. In the meantime, Zbyszek changed jobs and moved to a place near Cannock.
Finally, they decided to move in together. They rented a small two-room flat and began to settle in. They bought a new bed, where they enjoyed each other's company and rested. Then it was time for new furniture and long discussions about how they saw their shared living space.
It was a time of compromise and getting to know each other's Leo and Taurus personalities. In the early stages of living in Cannock, Renata felt lost and full of doubts. Zbyszek's patience and warmth helped her overcome her resistance. She began to leave the house. She found a job. Their lives began to stabilise and their love grew. Fresh red roses were always in the vase, pleasing Renata's eye and soul.
The words that changed everything
Zbyszek worked full-time. In their free time, they explored new places in the UK. In February 2015, Zbyszek began complaining of pain in his abdomen. His GP sent him for a body scan. Two weeks later, the postman brought a letter summoning him to the hospital for an appointment with a colon cancer specialist.
During the visit, the doctor said the fateful words: "You have stage III malignant colon cancer. You have a 10-12% chance of survival. If you agree to surgery, your chances will increase to 25%, and after chemotherapy to 50%. After the next five years, we will consider you cured."
My world collapsed. All my plans went down the drain. My mind was plunged into despair, and dark thoughts constantly swirled around in my head. The time for surgery came, followed by seven months of daily torment during chemotherapy. Hours of pain tearing at my nerve endings. More hours with my head hanging over the toilet bowl, vomiting, trying to empty my empty stomach.
His eyes were full of tears and he had one thought in his head: you have to endure this, you can do it. It was this thought and the knowledge that she was there with him that gave him strength. Renata saw his suffering and suffered herself, unable to help him. And yet she was unknowingly helping him — by staying with him.
For Zbyszek's sake, she changed her diet and started drinking vegetable and fruit juices with him. This diet helped him get through chemotherapy.
Small lights in the darkness
Despite the fact that Janusz was suffering and lacked strength, he used every break in chemotherapy to take Elutka to a new place. He still had a great fear in his mind that cancer would defeat him. So he wanted to use the time he had left to show his beloved as much as possible.
He did not know what the effects of the treatment would be, and besides, they both needed at least a few moments of relaxation. Even if they were tinged with fear. Thanks to this approach, this terrible time passed more easily and finally, on 28 December 2015, the chemotherapy ended. It was time for the body to regenerate.
In the meantime, they both learned to live with the stoma that Janusz had acquired during his first operation, when, after removing the part affected by cancerous tissue, his large intestine was pulled out. In October 2016, it was time for another operation to connect the intestines inside the body and remove the stoma.
Between life and death
The operation went well. On the second day, Janusz ate fresh fruit, which passed through his digestive tract and was excreted. It was a clear sign that the operation had been successful. Smiles appeared on both their faces, and hope began to fill their hearts.
On the third day, Elutek noticed that Janusz was speaking incoherently and seemed to be delirious. The next morning, he was back on the operating table. His entire body was infected and sepsis had taken over. Difficult days followed. His mind shut down his bodily functions one by one to save his brain, which also went into a very limited, almost vegetative state.
At that time, Janusz felt that he was in two worlds at once. One was the real world, when he woke up from his delirium for a moment, and the other was the world created for him by his brain, which was fighting for survival. At the same time, with all his willpower and soul, he was fighting an internal battle for his life.
Three times he felt that he was standing on the edge between life and death. Each time, he asked God for help. When he found himself there for the fourth time, he was so exhausted that he no longer had the strength to fight. He turned his thoughts to God and gave him his body and soul, saying, "Lord, I no longer have the strength to fight. I give you my life. Do with it as you will."
He felt his being enter a vast, dark space where everything remained motionless and time stood still. He felt his body undulate and its form change from something resembling an amoeba to a vaguely defined, enormous creature. All this took place in unimaginable silence.
After an indeterminate amount of time, he heard a voice filled with both power and fervour saying, "SO LIVE." These two words caused Janusz to open his eyes and begin to recover. After another week, he left the hospital and returned home, where Elutka was waiting for him, full of happiness. She took care of him and he began to regain his strength.
The year that took and gave
Christmas 2020 was approaching. This year was special for almost the entire human population. The new Covid-19 coronavirus was raging around the world. It was more virulent than the average flu virus. It took Janusz's grandmother to her grave. The same woman who raised him. To make matters worse, due to the quarantines in Europe, he couldn't even fly to Poland for her funeral.
But for Janusz and Elutka, it was also a year in which they appreciated even more that they had each other and could count on each other. That is why Janusz decided that the upcoming Christmas would be a good time to finally ask her one of the fundamental questions in male-female relationships: "Will you marry me?"
He bought a beautiful diamond ring and eagerly awaited Christmas. Handing Elutka a beautiful bouquet of red roses and asking her the question, he knew — he felt it — that there could only be one answer. And of course, that was the case. He heard the sacramental: "Yes, my love. Of course I will be your wife."
There are moments worth capturing. These photographs remind us how far we have come together.
That's all for this post. Feel free to check out my other posts.
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