Hear and take the first step. 2

When Kyrylo smiles, it feels as though the whole world smiles back. He loves being around people. Whenever someone comes home and doesn't come over to see him right away, he calls out to get their attention. He watches animals with fascination, reaches out his little hands toward them, and lights up whenever he sees water – a lake or a fountain.

Kyrylo enjoys building and taking apart stacking toys, sorting big objects with big ones and small objects with small ones, and finger painting. During meals, he eagerly reaches for the spoon, tries to hold it himself, and, with his mother's support, can already eat a few spoonfuls on his own.

His mother smiles as she talks about him. She says that sometimes Kyrylo can be a little lazy – but he always tries. And those efforts, together with daily therapy and hard work, gradually turn into new little victories.

These moments may seem ordinary. For Kyrylo, however, every new skill is the result of years of treatment, rehabilitation, and determination.

His life has been filled with challenges since the very beginning. Severe birth asphyxia marked his first moments of life. On his second day, his heart stopped. This was followed by a month in a coma, months of intensive medical care, and devastating diagnoses: cerebral palsy, severe global developmental delay, and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

Thanks to continuous rehabilitation, Kyrylo keeps making progress. He can now hold his head more steadily, roll over from his back to his tummy and back again, and is learning to stand with support. For now, he stands only on his toes, and when he tries to take a step, his legs still cross over each other. Yet he never stops trying. He has become calmer, more attentive to people, and increasingly interested in the world around him.

There is still a long way to go. Every rehabilitation course helps Kyrylo strengthen the skills he has already gained and move one small but meaningful step forward.

Kyrylo is being raised by his mother alone. After the full-scale war began, they were forced to leave their hometown of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region and start over in the Lviv region. Every resource she has is devoted to her son's treatment, but she cannot afford the next rehabilitation course on her own.

Today, Kyrylo needs our support once again. Thanks to caring people, he has already achieved what once seemed almost impossible. Your donation will help him continue discovering the world, learning new skills, and giving his mother many more reasons to smile with joy.