Nikolina is now 26 years old and lives in Podgorica. And as she herself says «I walk, I feel, I love, just like anyone else. And I can do it thanks to Sinisa Mihajlovic». Yeah, because in 2001, when Nikolina Radunovic as a very young girl she was seriously ill with a heart problem, Mihajlovic had taken action to help her. He had offered his family financial support, also enlisting the help of his teammates. So in April twenty-one years ago she was operated on successfully.
“I heard everything, I can’t believe it… Miha, my savior, is gone, it’s not possible… It’s terrible, I can’t take it anymore,” she wrote on Facebook. With these words and with a “thank you”, the girl commented on the death of Sinisa Mihajlovic on social media.
The heart surgery that saved her life
She was 4 and a half years old when Nikolina underwent heart surgery. That surgery that saved her life would not have been possible without Mihajlovic’s help. The little girl had a congenital cardiac malformation. Mihajlovic, who played for Lazio, helped his family personally, with the support of his teammates. Nikolina was operated on in Rome at the Bambino Gesù hospital in 2001.
When in July 2019 Mihajlovic announced that he was ill with leukemia, the girl published a post on Facebook: «The first news I read today concerns Sinisa Mihajlovic – she wrote on July 13, 2019 – ‘He is ill’, they say, ‘he is fighting for his life ‘. My sinisa? Sinisa, whose photo occupies my phone screen? Sinisa man, footballer, patriot, humanist, father, husband and great in every respect. Nineteen years ago you made my life possible. You made it possible for me to be who I am now, to live the life I live, to walk the paths I walk, to feel, to want, to love. I wish I could help you like you helped me. But I can not. My only help will be in prayers for another victory of yours. I will pray to God, in the hope that he will not forget your generosity and will reach out to you just as you have extended it to thousands of people in your half century. Miha, the legend… Miha, the king… Miha…».
