Physical Health Ukraine Project #21329

Life-Saving Treatment for Kids in Ukraine

by Charitable Foundation Zaporuka

Life-Saving Treatment for Kids in Ukraine

Project Report | May 12, 2023
How Teamwork Helped Sofia Beat Cancer

By Iana Dashkovska | Project Leader

Sofia with Zaporuka's team

Dear friends,

thank you for supporting seriously ill children who need treatment in wartime Ukraine! Your contributions help save lives.

I would like to share with you the picture of smiling and happy Sofia from Chernivtsi, who recently completed treatment and received her hero medal. This is a tradition we started in the pediatric oncology department to celebrate the children’s efforts towards their recovery.

Alongside Sofia, you can see the physical therapist and the psychologist from the Zaporuka team who worked with the girl and supported her on her journey to recovery. It is a happy day for them too, as their cooperation created a synergy that contributed to Sofia’s recovery.

Sofia was diagnosed with a tumor after the full-scale Russian invasion began. The doctors at the local hospital suspected something was wrong and referred her to the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv. It was a shock for her family, as they had to leave their safer region to go to the capital, where there were regular air raid sirens and missile attacks.

Unfortunately, the doctors’ suspicions were confirmed, and Sofia began treatment. Despite the difficult situation, Sofia faced everything very courageously and maturely. Even losing hair due to chemotherapy was not a tragedy for her, and she often joked about it, saying she had a wonderful head shape.

Despite facing many challenges, including chemotherapy, surgery, the inability to eat normally for some time, and more chemotherapy again, Sofia continued to smile and support everyone around her. She remained positive and brave throughout, even during constant alarms, explosions, and anxiety, while sitting in a bomb shelter.

Finally, the long-awaited moment came when the family received the news that they could return home. During the first three months of 2023, with your support over 300 children, like Sofia, were able to receive treatment in Ukraine. Thank you for your generosity and support!

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Jan 19, 2023
Vika's Escape From Occupation to Save Her Arm

By Iana Dashkovska | Project Leader

Vika in Kyiv

Dear friends,

thank you for supporting seriously ill children who need treatment in wartime Ukraine! Your contributions help save lives.

Vika, the girl you see in the picture, is from Kherson Oblast. Her family didn’t have time to leave their village before the Russian invaders came. The occupation happened at once and they had to find a way to survive. They saw their neighbors disappear and were afraid of going out. When the Russians held a fake referendum, the soldiers entered the houses in the village and pointed machine guns at children, and then ordered their parents to "vote". Fortunately, Vika was not very traumatized by the occupation because she didn't understand fully what was going on and remembered it as "bad people who didn’t allow her to speak Ukrainian."

When Vika felt pain in the arm, and the local doctors suspected a tumor, the situation went from bad to worse. In their conditions, the doctors could only offer an amputation. The girl needed to leave the region to save her arm. The Russian occupiers told the family to take Russian passports, leave everything behind and go to Russia if they wanted their daughter to receive any treatment. The family didn’t want to be deported, that’s why they looked for volunteers who could organize their evacuation to the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government.

When Vika arrived in Kyiv with her mom, the doctors confirmed her diagnosis and scheduled surgery. The tumor had to be removed, and a bone substitute installed in its place. Fortunately, the tumor was benign, so the girl didn’t need prolonged chemotherapy. When Vika was at the hospital, she worried a lot about her father, sister, and brother who remained in occupation. Later on, they managed to escape too. The family still cannot return home as their village is heavily shelled by the Russians but they are happy because Vika is feeling well and they are all together.

In 2022, your contributions helped more than 600 children like Vika receive treatment in Ukraine. Thank you!

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Sep 30, 2022
Family United After Escaping From Occupation

By Iana Dashkovska | Project Leader

Bohdan

Dear friends,

thank you for standing with Ukraine and supporting our children!

Your contributions make it possible to support seriously ill children and their families who are in evacuation abroad and those who remain for treatment in Ukraine. In Kyiv and Lviv hospitals, more than half of the patients come from either the occupied territories, or the territories, where active hostilities occur. Here, they receive the therapies they need and psychological support to overcome anxieties and adapt to a new life situation.

2-year-old Bohdan, diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, came to Lviv from occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. His parents noticed something wrong with the child’s eye after the beginning of Russia’s invasion. At that time, their town was already under occupation.

The father had to make six (!!!) attempts before he managed to go through the Russian checkpoint with the ill son. The mother was not allowed to go and had to remain in occupation. Firstly, they reached Zaporizhzhia, then Odesa, where Bohdan was urgently operated on to remove the tumor. The doctors managed to save his eye.

For chemotherapy, Bohdan and his father went to Lviv. There, the father took care of his son during the most challenging days of treatment. At the same time, he couldn’t stop worrying about his wife, who remained in occupation and could not often get in touch because of connection problems. The boy missed his mom very much, and the father tried hard to be as supportive as possible, hugging his boy all the time and cuddling with him.

Eventually, Bohdan’s mother managed to pass all the checkpoints and the family united. They received all the necessary support to be able to renew their lost documents and settle down in the Lviv Oblast. Now, between therapies, Bohdan can leave the hospital and have a rest staying with his parents. The family is happy to be together. For sure, that’s one of the things that makes the boy’s treatment successful. Your support is the other. Thank you so much for being there for us now!

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