You Can’t Erase the Smile

The sweat pours down Pawel Krzeszewski’s face during the game, but it can’t wash off the smile.

Pawel is simply happy to be at this week’s basketball camp. In fact, he’s happy to be wherever he is.

When he was just 6 years old, he developed a fever of 40 degrees (Celsius/104 Fahrenheit). He had no other symptoms, but he could not shake the fever. It got bad enough that his parents called the doctor, who visited him in his home. After listening to Pawel’s heart, the doctor told his parents to take him to the hospital immediately.

At the hospital, it took a while to figure out what was causing the fever, but they tested his heart and found out that he had arrhythmia. His heart beat an extra 8,000 times each day. The doctor gave him the bad news that he had to stop all strenuous physical activity. He suggested taking up chess.

“I have a sick heart,” Pawel said.

It was really hard for Pawel to watch his friends play sports and have fun in primary school, knowing that he couldn’t participate. He tried playing basketball one time, but he couldn’t handle it.

“After my first practice I had to go to the hospital because I was feeling so bad,” he said. “They said I could not play basketball anymore.”

Finally, when he moved to secondary school, he asked his Mom if he could try basketball again. She agreed, so he went to talk with the coach. The coach was reluctant, but agreed to let Pawel play if got the doctor’s permission.

“I was afraid,” Pawel said, “because he might tell me no. He was not only a sports doctor, but also a cardiologist. He said I could play, but I shouldn’t push myself too much.”

Pawel’s heart had improved. It still produced extra heart beats, but it was down to 3,000 extra beats per day. Pawel started playing basketball and fell in love with the game.

“It’s fun to play hard and do your best,” he said. “But it’s even more fun to play hard, do your best and win.”

He’s 16 now, and he’s continued to improve, both medically and on the court. He has no doubt where that improvement came from, especially the medical part.

“Maybe God,” he said, continuing to smile. “The doctors didn’t expect me to be in this condition.”

This year is his first time at basketball camp in Zakosciele. He says it won’t be his last.

“There are many basketball camps that I could attend,” he said. “But they wake you up at 6 a.m. and you run for 40 minutes. I can’t do that; I need to eat first.”

He’s also a diabetic, but that can’t slow him down, or keep him from smiling.

“I wasn’t always this way,” he said. “I didn’t like to spend time with people. I wanted to stay at home and play video games. But my Mom got me involved in PROeM Kontact in Lodz. There are people there from America, African-American people, who were all the time smiling. When they eat, they are smiling. When they are talking they are smiling. When they are playing basketball, they are all the time smiling.

“I found out it’s better to smile. Life is better when you smile.”

Now try washing that smile off your own face.