The Power of the Heart

Stories of People Who Never Gave Up!

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go toward building a community center, supporting people with disabilities, and developing inclusive projects.

Public Association “Society of People with Disabilities” Jomart Jurek – “Generous Heart”

Prologue

“When the body gives up, the soul must fight.”

I always considered myself a strong person. Life taught me resilience from childhood: my father left early, and my mother raised us alone, working on construction sites to keep us fed. From dawn till dusk, she hauled bricks and heavy beams, and in the evenings, barely able to stand, she cooked dinner and smiled as if fatigue didn’t exist. We helped her as best we could, but it was then I first understood: strength isn’t in muscles. Strength is in the spirit. After school, I joined the army and served my country for two years. I returned home feeling that real life was about to begin. But fate had other plans to test me. At first, it was just back pain. Nothing serious, the doctors said. “Just osteochondrosis,” they reassured me, prescribing injections and vitamins. Five years passed like that. But then my legs started to go numb. First the left, then the right, refusing to obey. I endured, hoping it would pass. One day, when our second child was born, we went for a family walk. It seemed like an ordinary day… but half an hour in, I realized I couldn’t walk. The pain was unbearable. At home, I tried to stretch my back, asking my four-year-old daughter to walk on it with her little feet. It didn’t help. Then I hung on a pull-up bar, hoping to stretch my spine. Suddenly, a sharp, burning pain shot through me… my hands let go, and I collapsed. My legs gave out. For a month, I lay unable to get up. Every day brought injections, pills, hope—and disappointment. Only an MRI revealed the truth: severe herniated discs, compressed nerve channels. Surgery was inevitable. After the operation, a new life began—but not the one anyone dreams of. The doctors banned all physical exertion, and I, accustomed to hard work and sports since childhood, started gaining weight rapidly. The scale hit 160 kilograms. And then—new pain, new threats. “You need surgery urgently, or you’ll face paralysis,” the doctor said. But I refused. I decided to fight. Every morning, I got up on aching legs, did exercises, and walked kilometers—10 a day, through pain, sweat, and despair. And I won. The pain receded. I lived like that for five years… until a simple cold triggered it all again. A second surgery. Transpedicular fixation. A cage implant. A month of rehabilitation. It seemed like light was ahead. But then—a new challenge. My body rejected the metal, inflammation set in, and I was bedridden again. For a whole year, I lay helpless, broken… Through it all, she was there—my wife. My angel. She worked, provided for the family, raised our children, and taught me to live again. Step by step, like a child, I learned to walk with crutches, then a cane, feeling the ground beneath my feet once more.

I returned to life. I started working at a society for people with disabilities, dedicating three years to it. But over time, I realized I wanted more. I wanted to help people the way I had been helped. That’s how my own organization was born—“Jomart Jurek,” meaning “Generous Heart.” Today, my family and I support people with disabilities—those on the brink, who’ve lost hope. This book is part of my dream. By buying it, you help us build the House of the Generous Heart—a place where everyone can find help, support, and belief in themselves. I’ve been through pain, helplessness, and despair. I fell and rose again. I learned one thing: when the body gives up, the soul must fight.