Help Natasha walk

Eight-year-old Natasha from Zaporizhzhia dreams of taking her first steps. A third orthopedic surgery will be followed by a long and challenging recovery, but Natasha is ready to do anything to walk independently. Only our support can bring this dream closer.

Natasha was born at 27 weeks of pregnancy. The diagnosis of hydrocephalus and purulent meningitis came as a shock to her parents.

Excess cerebrospinal fluid can be drained from the brain using a shunt only when a child’s weight exceeds 3 kilograms. At that time, Natasha weighed just 1,060 grams, so before the shunt procedure she had to undergo more than 35 punctures to remove the excess fluid.

Nataliia has spastic diplegia and a paralytic dislocation of the hip joints. It is painful and difficult for her to stand, and she cannot walk.

Natasha attends a specialized kindergarten, knows numbers and colors, names animals, speaks well, and understands speech addressed to her. She loves listening to music, watching YouTube, going for walks, and playing with friends. She also really wants to do sports like her older brothers Heorhii and Andrii.

Doctors have already performed two surgeries on her hip joints. However, the left hip has moved out of the correct position again, so another surgical intervention is needed – to reposition the joint and remove the previously installed metal structures.

After the surgery, Natasha will spend one and a half months in a cast, followed by long-term rehabilitation: massages, restoring joint mobility, strengthening muscles, and learning to walk. The surgery and the cast are a difficult challenge for a child, but Nataliia dreams of one day taking her first steps. We believe that this cheerful girl has many victories ahead.

The family had already been raising funds for the surgery, but had to urgently spend them on replacing the shunt. Currently, only the father is working, and the family cannot cope with the expenses on their own.

The surgery will be performed at the Dnipro Pyrohov Medical and Surgical Center. Funds need to be raised to realign the joint and remove the metal implants. Let’s help make Natasha’s dream come true – every contribution matters!