When childhood is a pain

This is Kiril, he is 6 years old, and he has never taken an independent step. He has never said a single word. He has never heard his mother's gentle "I love you" – until recently. Because Kiril was born too early, weighing less than two kilograms, and since then his life has been nothing but games, walks, and children's parties, but endless pain, seizures, silence, and immobility.

Kiril has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, severe developmental delays and profound hearing loss. He does not walk, speak, or sit up on his own. But he lives. And he wants to do more than just survive – he wants to hear, he wants to move, he wants to be with other children, to be not "different”"but like everyone else.

His mom sees him struggle every day. And she does not give up. Even when it seems like everything is lost. Recently, a real miracle happened: Kiril started wearing hearing aids and for the first time in his life heard a voice. Hearing is not just a sound. It is a breakthrough into a world he has never had access to before. He smiles when he hears birds singing. He recognizes his mom by her voice. He comes alive.

Before the full-scale war, they regularly underwent rehabilitation. And it gave them a chance. But the war destroyed everything: their home in their native Kherson region, stability, and treatment. Now Kiril and his mother are forced to live in another city and look for a way to salvation on their own. The next rehabilitation course at the Institute of Pain Problems in Kyiv is very important. Without it, the disease will again take away what they have achieved with such effort. But there is no money. And there is no time either.

The boy's mother addresses you not as strangers. But as those who can hear. Who can feel. And help at least a little. Because even a little help is a big step for Kiril. This is a chance for a childhood that is not completely lost.

Please support Kiril. At least one step closer to the dream of living.