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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 | Feb 2, 2016
Never Give Up Like Zhenia

By Iana Dashkovska | Project Leader

Dear friends,

thank you so much for supporting Ukrainian kids with cancer in such a difficult moment for this country.

The year of 2015 was tough for us for many reasons: war in the Eastern Ukraine, deep recession, devaluation of the Ukrainian currency. As a result the state could perform its functions even worse than before, that’s why organizations like Zaporuka had to substitute it. As the Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak says, it’s true that Ukraine might be called a fragile state or even a failed state but the Ukrainian society is not failed, far from it, and thanks to its activities the country survives and has a future. Thus, because of lacks of public funds in the healthcare we have to perform the function of medicine and medical materials suppliers to the hospitals and directly to ill kids who need them.

Today I would like to tell you about the boy (in the picture) who serves as an inspiration for us. Zhenia is a 14-year-old boy who is hospitalized at the Institute of Cancer in Kyiv. He has been ill for almost a year. A malignant tumor affected his spine, to be exact his lumbar vertebrae. Because of the tumor location Zhenia cannot walk and the physiotherapists work with him to avoid muscle atrophy. At the same time the guy is fighting for his life: to prevent spreading of the tumor to the other bones of the skeleton he needs chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy treatment is always hard to endure but it is twice as hard when one cannot walk and is dependent on the other persons to take care of his basic needs, especially teenage guys who want to be strong men.

In such situations even adults may fall into depression. But it is not Zhenia’s case: this boy doesn’t give up! Although he can move around only in a wheelchair we purchased for him he is very active and sociable. When guests come to visit him he always smiles and jokes. Zhenia is very smart and can discuss lots of topics: books, movies, even politics. But his passion is programming. He doesn’t waste time at the hospital and even during painful therapies he tries to improve his skills learning in the internet. One of the games he programmed became quite successful. He would like to continue studying programming after the recovery.

Thanks to your donations guys like Zhenia get medicines, medical materials, psychological assistance and rehabilitation. With your help they have a better chance of recovering and living their life after the disease. Thank you very much for being a part of their stories!

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Nov 5, 2015
Natasha Is Not Alone

By Iana Dashkovska | Project Leader

Dear friends,

thank you for supporting Ukrainian kids with cancer.

A 10-year old girl you see in the pictures is hospitalized at the Institute of Cancer in Kyiv. Her name is Natasha and she comes from Kryvyi Rikh. When you get acquainted with the girl the first thing you notice are her beautiful and sincere eyes. You can imagine this girl dancing with a nice guy, her prince. But unfortunately it is impossible. She has a tumor in the leg: osteosarcoma.

Natasha has been receiving chemotherapy for a long time. It is required to kill cancer cells and to prevent them from spreading throughout her body. The girl’s mother stays always with her. She left two other children at home because her daughter needed her care and her support more at the moment. Still her kids miss her very much.

Natasha’s family is low-income. They live in a small village where there is no employment, so they have to earn their living selling some orchard products and some eggs they get from their hens. The family doesn’t have any savings to pay for treatment, the mother doesn’t work because of her daughter disease and what the father earns is enough only to maintain himself and two kids left with him at home.

Thanks to your donations we provided Natasha with necessary medicines and medical consumables that are not available at the department. Now the situation is critical in Ukraine, worse than before. Because of economic crisis, currency devaluation, war in the East the state provides only a limited quantity of the most essential drugs like chemotherapy and all the rest the parents have to buy.

Unfortunately, all the doctors’ efforts to save Natasha’s leg were vain. It has to be amputated, so that the girl could live. The psychologist from Zaporuka service at the department supports the girl, prepares her for such an important surgery and encourages fighting against the disease with all her strength. After the surgery she will need physical rehabilitation that is also provided by Zaporuka.

Natasha’s dream was to have a tablet, a simple one that she could use during those long hours in bed on a drip. For most people it is a common thing to have a tablet but for a big family from little Ukrainian village it is a luxury they cannot afford. One of the volunteers coming to the hospital asked Natasha about her dream and thanks to her post in Facebook people made this dream come true.

Natasha will need a long treatment and rehabilitation but she is not alone with her disease. Thanks to your donations and your support Zaporuka can continue helping her family and many other families like hers.

Links:

More about Zaporuka activities

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