Returned Maksimenko (Ivanov) Kiril, 4 y.o., spina bifida

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25.04.2013 Kiril is 4 years old From a small town in Zaporizzya region, raised by a single mom. In 2009 he had a surgery in Zaporizzya. The child has a disability. He was admitted to the Pediatric Department at the Institute of Neurosurgery on 20.04.2013 with the diagnosis of postoperative dermal sinus lumbar spine. UPD […]

Svetlana N., 1 y.o., multiple defects + hydrocephalus

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First appeal: Vika is in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Ohmadet hospital. She was born at 32 weeks, weighing 1.6 kg. Her parents did not officially abandon the girl, but they do not visit her. Last week, her stomach has been operated on, and yesterday (19/06/15), around 7 pm, the doctors performed emergency […]

Rehabilitation course for Roma and Andriy from orphanage in Boyarka at the Clinic of V. Kozyavkin

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We have arranged for the two of “our” children in the orphanage in Boyarka to go to a 12-day rehabilitation course in one of the best rehabilitation clinics in Ukraine. Roma K. and Andriy G. Both kids have had surgeries at the Institute of Neurosurgery and are supervised by our volunteers from the Patronage Program. […]

Returned. Golub Sofia, 6 months, hydrocephalus

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Emergency child. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Natalia has already ordered blood and everything necessary for the surgery; there was no time for fundraising. I believe that we not only need  to save Sophia, but her mother as well (as possible). Sofia was born at 26 weeks gestation weighing 700 grams because of […]

Patronage. Roma V., 6 months old, orphan, tumor

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Roma was supposed to come last week, but only got here today. A full checkup and preparation for the surgery is planned for tomorrow. Roma has been abandoned twice… First by his birth parents, and then again, by his adoptive parents, after they’ve learned about his condition. Roma is from Pryluky, where we took Timofey […]

Returned. Kerezora Masha, 2 years old, tumor, refugee from Eastern Ukraine.

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Masha and her family had to walk out the Luhansk region. 10 km. During his “hike” her mother noticed Masha’s incoordination. They were sent to get an MRI in Lysychansk, which showed that Masha has a tumor; after which they were sent to Kharkiv. On her way there Masha started having seizures, so she was […]

Under supervision. Titechko Dima, 2 years old, a tumor of the third ventricle

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Dima is 8th youngest out of 9 siblings from a large family from a village of the Rivne region. Suddenly, the child became capricious, began to complain of headaches and vomiting. With these symptoms Dima was treated for food poisoning at a local hospital three times, before they realized that he needs a CT. A CT scan showed the […]

Vegerak Anna, 5 months old, hydrocephalus and arachnoid cyct

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Her mother is a teacher, her father a shift worker — they make a very small living. The situation is difficult, the parents were hoping that the treatment would go faster. She requires long-term treatment due to various medical complications. She needs continuous treatment with antibiotics and ongoing supportive therapy. After this course of treatment, […]

Discharged!! :)) Genko Anna, 6 months old, congenital hydrocephalus

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A girl from a large family from a village in the Rivne region. Diagnosis: Congenital Hydrocephalus, diagnosed at week 20. Anya was born at 37 weeks by C-section. After the birth Any and her Mom were discharged to go home and told to prepare for the surgery. A month later, the girl’s condition deteriorated and […]

What is Hydrocephalus?

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We decided to make a little post about the most common diagnoses of children at the Clinic. This our first post like this. What is hydrocephalus? Hydrocephalus comes from two Greek words: hydro-, meaning “water”, and kephalos, meaning “head”. It was once informally called “Water on the brain”. It is a medical condition in which […]

Hot water for the orphanage in Pryluky

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There are about 100 children living at the “Nadiya” orphanage in Pryluky. Some of them are children with disabilities. Three of them are under our care (as they require neurosurgical treatment). The orphanage doesn’t have hot water. They’ve asked us to buy 4 heating boilers, 100 liters each, so they could bathe the children. As it turned […]

Passed Away. Sviridovich Ruvim, 5 years old, tumor in fourth ventricle and hydrocephalus

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Ruvim in the 11th out of 13 children in a family from a village in the Rivne region. Three weeks ago the child vomiting several times a day, every day. His mother thought it could be parasites and tried to treat that, with no effect. Then started the headache. They went to see a pediatrician […]

Syringe (infusion) pumps for the newborns’ room

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Ideally we would need 14, but at least we got two… :(( Infusions pumps are used for giving exact amounts of medications to premature and underweight babies. Syringe pump SN-50C66R (HEACO LTD, UK) — cost of one pump is about $1000. To make a donation please visit Details!  26/01/2016 Update Yay! We did it! Four […]

Nebulizers for the Department of Physical Therapy at the Institute of Neurosurgery

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We all remember how our Sima and Nikita had a two-week rehabilitaion course at the Department of Physical Therapy at the Institute of Neurosurgery in early August. The course gave great results, especially for Nikita. We will be bringing two more children from different orphanages (who also have problems with nerve conduction in lower body) for […]

10 sets of surgical kits as a gift from the supplier — Thank You!

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Surgical sets of linens and covers for surgeries on the head type #3 — 5 sets, type #8 0 5 sets. Dmitriy, thank you so-so much! This is huge help for us in saving money on surgical supplies for our children!

Discharged! :)) Shevchenko David, 2 months old, hydrocephalus, from Slavyansk

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David is the 4th son in the family from Slavyansk (in the Donetsk region). He was born prematurely at 30 weeks (placental abruption). The delivery was very difficult; the doctors ended up having to remove the uterus to save the mother’s life. The baby spent two months in the neonatal intensive care unit. David was diagnosed with […]

Discharged! :)) Dmytruk Kiril, 7 years old, arachnoid cyst

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Kiril’s mother is bringing up four children on her own. She brought Kiril to the Institute of Neurosurgery in Kyiv, and left behind her three other children in their hometown, but she wasn’t expecting such expenses and complications. The boy has a cyst that is pressing on his optic nerve, which already caused him to lose sight […]

We have new cool lights in the OR! :)

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There are two operating rooms at the children’s clinic of the Neurosurgery Institute, where 4 to 6 surgeries take place daily. Currently one of the operating teams is on vacation, which gives us a perfect opportunity to fix some of the weakest spots. Today it is the broken lights. The government hasn’t been supplying the […]

Getting treatment in Moscow. Lysenko Aleksander, 15 y.o., tumor, child from the Eastern Ukraine

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Lysenko Aleksandr, 15 years old, from the ATO zone in Donbass region, finished 9th grade, enjoyed sports, started having back pain in May 2015. He first went to see a trauma surgeon, but he couldn’t find the reason for the pain. Some time later he started having headaches and his eyesight got worse. They went […]

Renovations of the Children’s ICU at the Institute of Neurosurgery

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This needs to be done fast, while everyone is on vacation and there aren’t as many kids in the ICU as there usually are. There are currently 1-2 kids there, as opposed to the regular 5-6 kids. The main reason for the repairs is medical, not aesthetical. The walls of the ICU are currently covered […]