We Beg to Save Our Son

They are an ordinary family living in a small village in Crimea. One day an unexpected trouble knocked at their door. Their son David was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and the metastases in the left shoulder bone were detected too. The boy requires a high-tech treatment which unfortunately is not available in Ukraine. The family doesn’t have money to pay for such a treatment in Germany. So the parents appeal to all kind people asking to save their only son.

“Hello, I am Marina, the mother of a 5-year-old David Benidze. My son has been treated at the Institute of Cancer for a very long time – since December 2011. All this time I was inseparable with him. I saw a lot of thing there: all patients had very complicated cases, they had their own troubles. David has a terrible diagnosis: neuroblastoma of the left adrenal gland, Stage 4. For half a year my son was coping with the disease and the tumor was decreasing. David underwent a complex surgery which was successful, so he was almost healthy and we returned home. However, a few months later our family had to face the same trouble again because David had a recurrence. The boy requires a high-tech treatment which unfortunately is not available in Ukraine. The next border for us is Germany and we hope that with your help we will be able get there and save the life of my son. Our whole family appeals to kind people. I believe that you can help us, I am a mother, so I should believe in it! We appreciate even the smallest aid. The voice of one man is the voice of no one but when a lot of voices are united for a common goal the victory will certainly be ours! My husband and I beg you to give a chance to our boys and to help to save our beloved child!”
The leading pediatric oncologist of Ukraine Grygorii Klymniuk gave the certificate to David’s parents confirming the necessity to continue treatment in foreign clinics in Austria or Germany where high-tech sophisticated methods are used are which are not available in Ukraine. The parents referred to clinics in Germany which after reviewing their medical history agreed to take the child for treatment. They chose the clinic in Würzburg which used the best methods of treatment and provided the smallest invoice. The duration of treatment lasts from 12 months.
David’s mother worked as a shop assistant, the father had worked as a KAMAZ driver for 20 years. They dreamt of having two children and their dream came true: Davis was born and a year later a beautiful daughter. When their son fell ill the family members had to live 900 kilometers from each other: the mother stayed with the son at the hospital in Kyiv and the father remained with a 4-year-old daughter in Crimea. Unfortunately, often the trouble does not come alone. This year David’s father had a stroke and now he cannot help in treating his son because he is disabled.
David liked to play constructor toys making cars and aircrafts out of small parts. With his friends the boy could spend hours building a whole town of sand fortresses, castles and palaces. The boy dreams of becoming a big KAMAZ driver and with it he would bring materials for building new towns and villages that he had learned to build with sand. For two years David has been staying at the hospital. There he has a small computer with which he sees cartoons and plays games. He has a lot of new friends among little patients and volunteers. He misses his home, his father, his sister and big sandbox near the house.

Name: David Benidze, 5 years old
Location: Crimea, Nyzhnohirskyi raion, village Peny
Diagnosis: Neuroblastoma of the retroperitoneal space, Stage 4