Vladislava Kravchenko may be paralsyed and wheelchair-bound but the 17-year-old former gymnast and aspiring model is determined to walk, jump and dance again.

When the doctors first told her she would never walk again, she begged to differ. "I didn't say anything but I knew they were wrong," she said yesterday with a cheeky grin.

She was speaking at the launch of the Help Vlada campaign (www.helpvlada.com), aimed at raising funds to help her undergo highly-specialised, experimental treatment in Russia.

Ms Kravchenko moved from the Ukraine to Malta with her mother when she was nine and was a happy, energetic and intelligent girl with a passion for ballet and art. But her life changed dramatically when a lighting structure collapsed on her and seven other people during a party in Qawra last September.

She is involved in a legal battle for compensation but, in the meantime, she needs to collect thousands of euros to undergo stem-cell treatment to regain her mobility.

Although she is confident she will win the court-case, she knows it would be years before she sees any money. Her doctors have told her the longer she waits for the treatment the leaner her chances of recovery.

"When I was in hospital I did a lot of research to learn about my injuries and the various treatments available," she said.

The treatment, by which bone-marrow is used to regenerate nerves in her body, costs about €150,000 to complete over a period of two years. Even though the treatment does not involve embryonic-cells, only very few clinics around the world provide it.

The success rate is about 10 per cent and some scientists argue that the cells can develop a cancer cell.

Ms Kravchenko said the possibility of walking again was worth any risk and she is convinced that her determined spirit would make her one of the lucky ones.

"The doctors give their diagnosis based on averages.

But what are averages? They don't consider a unique case and every person is unique. Theoretically, yes, if you damage your spine you're bound to the wheel-chair but I know people who recovered after surgery. It is possible."

She also believes that if people in the past had not taken on experimental treatment, medicine would not have advanced.

So where does she see herself in 10 years' time?

"It's hard to say because you never know what can happen to you tomorrow.

"I see myself working, helping others, going on a cruise with my family and friends... I plan to help people who had an accident. We are living in an industrial world and accidents happen but you have to fight them."

Ms Kravchenko's mother, who was present at the event, said she was proud of having such a positive and hopeful daughter. "Day by day we recover together", she said, explaining that her daughter never let her condition eat at her spirit.

"All we have is hope, and only hope. But hope is everything and I wish her story would inspire people never to give up, no matter what they face in life," she said.

In fact, despite the accident having happened days before she was meant to start Sixth Form at St Aloysius' College, the girl still managed to finish her first year and is determined to continue studying.

She also hopes to eventually help other people raise funds to undergo experimental and expensive medical treatment as well as to raise awareness to improve safety at entertainment establishments.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com