I am Sabina Ulubeanu, a 36 years old mother who also like to describe herself as „ just a composer”.
In the autumn of 2009, at 30, I suddenly began to feel sick: very weak, short of breath and I became yellow. My daughter was 7, and my son was 2. I was still breastfeeding and thought I was just tired and stressed out.
What came next was an avalanche of investigations and meetings with doctors form many hospitals. After ruling out all sorts of terrible diseases and trying different treatments with no success, I went to Vienna where my condition was confirmed: Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. The newest drug for AIHA (Rituximab) was still not approved in Romania for this rare disease, so I basically moved to Vienna where thet gave it to me, with no positive outcome, and finally I had my spleen removed and got well.
It happened in March 2012.
In November 2012 I was again in Vienna for artistic reasons (and the usual check-up). This is when I read for the first time about the Network of Cytostatics. Everything was familiar to me: the oldest pharmacy in Vienna, the office above Mariahilferstr, but mostly, the struggle to regain one’s health…
It was too soon for me to get involved, tha trauma was too recent.
But in February 2013, a good friend, Simona Tache, shared on Facebook a status about needing someone going to Bucharest from Vienna.
It clicked something inside me and I responded.
What came next was overwhelming.
Yes, I travelled home with medicine, calmly taking them through security and bringing them to Valeriu, the taxi driver that distributed them to the ones in need. More important was the fact that doing a simple thing, an easy gesture, meant helping someone’s health and fighting a system that seemed not to care about the people. Everyone I talked to about the network felt the same: it is the least we can do!
I truly believe people have the need to do good, to offer, to help each other.
The Network was a way of getting people together for a good purpose. I think it is the main reason it worked so well.
It responded the needs of others, but also our own need to give (time/ help/ encouragement).
My own personal gain, though, was tremendous. Not only you feel good helping others, but I became very good friends with Vlad Voiculescu, the initiator if the Network, supporting each other in many other so called impossible projects or just knowing we are there at a click or phone call away.
I got involved because I knew what it means to be helpless against a disease and I will remain involved for as long as I will live, because this Network might not be needed now for cancer drugs, but it created a gathering of great souls that will be for sure needed for many other aspects of our society that need deep and profound healing.
, then we met and I took the medcines, that was the first encounter so to speak.