A safe life for Katia

Katia was born and lives in the zone of radiation pollution due to the Chernobyl accident; it caused congenital problems with the musculoskeletal system and the absence of the right kidney. In August, the girl will have a complex operation to align her spine. The cost of implants is 265 800 UAH.

The fact that the child has congenital right-sided sterno-lumbar scoliosis, keeled chest, the parents found out immediately after birth. On the seventh day, the baby was taken to the intensive care unit of the regional hospital due to a deterioration in her condition. At the age of one month, Katia was discharged home.

Parents immediately went for a consultation with an orthopedist. The doctor recommended the constant wearing of a corset. As the child grew - every two months - family had to buy a new corset, but there was no improvement.

In February 2023, Katia got an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at OKHMATDYT. The doctor said that only surgery would help in this case.

On March 1, Katia underwent a preparatory operation on her spine: a formation was removed that would have prevented the installation of implants for spinal correction.

During the next examination, Katia was found to have the absence of her right kidney, its function is performed by the left one. The reason for this is also the effect of radiation on the body.

Katia is in 3rd grade. She loves math lessons and studying nature. In her spare time, she draws, creates crafts, and watches cartoons.

Katia spent the first weeks of the full-scale invasion with her four-year-old brother Sasha and her parents in a cold basement, fleeing enemy air attacks. They cannot evacuate because they do not want to leave their grandparents.

An operation to install implants in the spine is scheduled for August. They can’t hesitate, because every day the compression of the internal organs on the right increases, the heart shifts, which negatively affects its work, the right lung grows more slowly than the left.

In the postoperative period, Katia will spend some time in a lying position, then it will be possible to move carefully. The system will be "growing", that is, adjustable as it grows, but after 2-3 years the girl will have to be operated on again, since several bolts will need to be replaced.

We are rasing money to pay for implants of the Socore system to stabilize and correct the child's spine. The family is in difficult financial situation, so Katia needs your help!