Humanitarian Foundation BUDI HUMAN – Aleksandar Šapić

is raising funds for Goran Kovač (1984).

Goran suffers from tetraplegia (G82.5 – Tetraplegia; S12.2 – Fracture of the cervical vertebra), caused by a severe cervical spine injury sustained in a traffic accident on March 16, 2023, when he suffered a fracture of the C7 vertebra and a dislocation of C6/C7. These injuries resulted in permanent neurological damage, severe disability, and the need for long‑term treatment and rehabilitation.

After the accident, Goran was initially treated at the General Hospital in Vrbas, and due to the severity of his injuries, he was urgently transferred to the University Clinical Center of Serbia in Belgrade. On March 20, 2023, he underwent surgery, including decompression of the spinal cord at C6/C7, open reduction of the fracture/dislocation, and segmental internal fixation of the spine. The postoperative course was extremely difficult: he spent a month in the intensive care unit in life‑threatening condition, on mechanical ventilation and vasopressor support.

During hospitalization, numerous complications developed. After discharge from UKCS, Goran was hospitalized again at the General Hospital. In July 2023, he was referred to the Institute for Rehabilitation “Dr Miroslav Zotović” in Belgrade, where he stayed for nearly 11 months.

In February 2024, at a private clinic, he underwent laminectomy and medullotomy at C6–C7 with stem cell application due to post‑traumatic syringomyelia that had almost completely destroyed the spinal cord tissue at that level. From November 20–22, 2024, he received a second stem cell application and removal of osteosynthetic material. After these interventions, partial improvement in sensation in the thighs, abdomen, and sphincters was recorded.

Today, Goran is permanently immobile, uses a wheelchair, occasionally a pilot walker, does not control sphincters, depends on intermittent catheterization, has muscle atrophy of the arms and legs, spasms in the lower extremities, and sensation preserved only in the upper extremities and thorax.

Continuation of treatment in Serbia and abroad requires significant financial resources, which is why help from humane people is needed in the form of donations.

Funds are needed for treatment abroad, microchip implantation, rehabilitation, and orthopedic aids.

For Goran! Let’s be humane!

Help Goran!