To fight means to win!

Mariyka’s story of life is a story of an unbreakable desire to live. 5 years ago, this little girl won her first battle for life. Thanks to Mariyka’s strong will to live and constant effort of her parents, cerebral palsy did not become a death sentence for her. Regular rehabilitations gave this girl a chance to grow and develop. Unfortunately, without help parents cannot pay for those much-needed courses.

Mariyka’s hard journey started the moment she was born when she did not start breathing. Nobody could figure out why it happened. The baby was immediately taken to the intensive care unit. The next few months brought more pain, fears, and stress. The baby was constantly on breathing support. The mother could only see the baby twice a day, when she was coming to feed her. It is still hard for her to keep tears away thinking about the helpless little body that was kept alive with numerous machines and catheters. But the baby was fighting to live and the parents could not let her down by giving up to all their fears.

After three weeks in the regional hospital, the baby was moved to OHMADYT, the main Ukrainian children’s hospital. During tests there, doctors found major brain damage. Normal body functions were affected. Parents were desperate. The doctors were not able to help much and their predictions were not so good. There were even suggestions to leave the baby in the orphanage. But the parents did not give up their little girl. Instead, they started acting. Regardless of the Cerebral palsy diagnosis, after a year Mariyka’s seizures went away. She started to eat on her own and started massage therapy and other rehabilitation protocols.

The rehabilitation therapy that she received in Truskavec, gave the parents much hope. Significant improvements happened because of it: muscle tension had decreased, she was able to move more, her sight had improved, she could hold her head better, and sit with support longer. She became more attentive, interacted more, and pronounced more sounds.

For continuous development, Mariyka needs rehabilitation courses at least 3 times a year. But after 9 courses, the savings of the family with a single source of income became depleted. They cannot afford the next rehabilitation course.

To keep growing and developing, Mariyka needs to continue her treatments. Please help Mariyka’s parents help their little girl!

Name: Demyanchuk Maria, 09.05.2011

City: Rivne

Diagnosis: cerebral palsy, spastic tetraplegia