Extend his match, please!

Football is loved and watched by millions all over the world. These two halves of forty-five minutes each consisting of inspiration and frustration, despair and enthusiasm, excitement and tragedy. A football player and a fan both know that there are many more matches and a long sporting life ahead. Artem will not have another match. This boy suffers from a serious condition called cystic fibrosis. We all can extend the time of his life match.

The first years of Artem Kazachuk were filled with constant checkups and doctors. At the age of three, the boy was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. It is a severe congenital disease, which cannot be treated. However, some special treatment can make Tioma’s life longer. People with cystic fibrosis in Europe live up to forty or even longer. Tioma has happily reached his 11 which makes him “a lucky” one in Ukraine.

The treatment program of cystic fibrosis is not really developed in Ukraine. Children and parents have to look for their way out on their own. They have to look for medications abroad. The life of the child with cystic fibrosis is a daily struggle. This pace of life would not be easy for many professional athletes. Cystic fibrosis results in some complicated health issues: the child’s pancreas runs only 10%, fibrosis changes in the liver and terrible Pseudomonas Aureginosa  (inflammation) in the lungs, which "eats" them from within. Tioma does not give up, though. This little warrior is struggling. Every day he has droppers, injections, and inhalation as well as special exercises.

Artem still tries to find time and energy for aikido, good studies and hanging out with his friends and classmates. The boy loves football. His insidious disease does not allow him to play football. He knows everything about football, football matches, and players. He can all day long talk about his favorite team Manchester United and his idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic he hopes to meet one day. Sometimes, though Artem is in despair. “Mom…why me?! I am tired and can’t stand it anymore…”

There are no answers for this bitter question. There is no option left for Tioma but to cheer up and continue his battle for life. There are again droppers, injections, and inhalations.

The treatment of cystic fibrosis costs a lot of money. Many drugs cannot be purchased in Ukraine, so the boy’s family has to buy them abroad. Your help can give this wonderful boy many more happy years of life! You can make this miracle happen!

Name: Artem Kazachuk, 29.09.2005

City: Zaporizhia

Diagnosis: cystic fibrosis with pancreatic insufficiency, severe, chronic lung infection with Pseudomonas Aureginosa