Do you recognize the ADELI patient in the photos from the Fashion Days 2026?

Jarka's story is one of willpower and discipline. She studied Slovak language and literature in combination with systematic philosophy. Even during her studies, she was passionate about spinning and mountain biking. "That was my life," says Jarka, who also completed several cycling marathons. She was 28 years old, loved her life, and nothing suggested that everything could change in a single second.

The fateful moment paradoxically came on her bicycle – her greatest passion. During a ride in the forest, she suddenly fell. But it was no ordinary fall. "She suffered a stroke, the fall was the result of it," she recalls today.

In the intensive care unit, she fought for her life. The stroke turned her world completely upside down from one second to the next. In addition, she suffered numerous facial fractures as well as a severe injury to the cervical spine.

"I couldn't control my body. At first, I just scribbled a few words on paper that I wanted to get out somehow. I didn't start from zero, but from a very deep basement," she describes this difficult time.

Rehabilitation at the ADELI Medical Center, where she returns regularly every year, also plays a major role in her path back to life.

"I work two hundred percent to ensure my gait becomes as stable as possible. I control every single step, but I can walk without support – and that is great," she says.

Every day she trains, rides an ergometer, takes care of herself, and lives by the motto: "Movement is life." When you see her energy, her athletic figure, and her inner strength, it immediately becomes clear that sport has remained an important part of her life. Even though her left hand could not fully regenerate, Jarka has not given up on movement or life.

A year and a half ago, she even started driving again. She mastered the route from Vranov nad Topľou to Piešťany all by herself.

"Many didn't think I could do it – but I did," she says with a smile.

And today? Today she is on the catwalk.

At the Bratislava Fashion Days 2026, Jarka impressed as a model – a woman whom hardly anyone would associate with a story after a stroke. The elegant woman convinced the audience not only with her charisma, but above all with her extraordinary life journey.

At her side was a well-known Slovak rapper, but even more symbolic was her accompaniment by another model – our ADELI colleague and social media manager Zlata Sokolová. The joint presence of a patient and an ADELI team member directly on the catwalk was a beautiful proof that rehabilitation consists not only of therapies, but above all of returning to life.

Today, Jarka does not sit at home between four walls. Thanks to her enormous discipline, her mental strength, and the intensive rehabilitation at ADELI, she has rediscovered her self-confidence, her femininity, and the courage to show herself to the world.