Unplanned Journey: A Goal is Set

No parent wants his child to be sick, hurt, or disabled. Nobody expects such an experience; rather, it is an unplanned trip. Its path is strewn with obstacles. In the beginning, of course, it is overwhelmed by stress, grief, disappointment. But in the process, parents learn the "art of small steps" and the journey gets a goal – to put the child on his feet! Natasha is now on such a journey. She will never accept the diagnosis, she will believe and move on, and her faith will create miracles!

Bogdan was born in 2016 at the 32nd week of pregnancy. Nothing foreshadowed trouble, the fetus was developing according to the schedule, the tests were normal. But on that fateful day, Natasha suddenly felt a heaviness in the lower abdomen. The ambulance took her to the hospital, but the child did not wait until the maternity ward, he was born right at the sanitary inspection room. The boy screamed at once. The tests showed that the preterm birth was caused by an intrauterine infection of unknown origin.1.5 long months of wandering around hospitals and now, an ultrasound scan of the brain showed an increase in the ventricles and a suspicion of hydrocephalus. Treatment was prescribed for 2 months. Natasha obediently gave the baby all the medicines. But then, according to the results of the MRI, it turned out that these drugs are contraindicated for the child.

At 5 months old, Bogdan suddenly began to lower his head periodically. And at the age of 7.5 months, convulsions began. Mom took the baby to Kyiv for examination, which showed cytomegalovirus. In the neurological department of OKHMATDET, treatment was completed and at 9 months the diagnosis was made: cerebral palsy, spastic tetraparesis, symptomatic epilepsy. Delay in psycho-speech development as a result of infection. Partial atrophy of the optic nerves. Natasha immediately joined the process of her son's rehabilitation. After the first two courses of treatment, the child got stronger and his eyesight improved. But one of the rehabilitation courses was a challenge for the family. On one of the days of the massage, paraffin was put on the back, although before that paraffin applications were made only on the legs and arms. After the procedure, the child vomited blood. Bogdan has narrow portal veins and heating with paraffin increased the pressure in the circulatory system, the liver could not cope with such a load. A complex surgery – distal splenorenal bypass surgery, stitching of the coronary veins of the stomach – cannot be remembered without pain. Each minute of the surgery dragged on like an eternity, the heart jumped out of the chest and strove to where a small body lay on the cold surgery table. After these terrible events, Natasha takes her son to Kiev every year for examination and consultations.

The journey continues. Bogdan does exercise therapy every day and undergo massages – this is a vital necessity for him. After courses in rehabilitation centers, the physical and emotional state of the boy significantly improves. Natasha pays a lot of attention to the mental development of her little son, reads him poetry, fairy tales, and switches on the good music. And the baby responds to all mother's efforts, loves it very much when she reads to him, has a subtle perception of music. Loves musical toys. Physically, Bogdan has yet to catch up with his peers, he really wants to walk. As soon as he is taken by the arms, he begins to "jump and run" and it's very fun. But he cannot even sit on his own. The child needs treatment in rehabilitation centers 3-4 times a year. Only under such conditions it is possible to achieve the cherished goal – independence and socialization. Without treatment, most of the results achieved will come to naught, the disease will progress and its consequences will become irreversible. Time is the enemy for a sick child.

Help Natasha and Bogdan on their way to health!