A week to save the heart

UPD: we increased the amount of the project, because before the operation Irena’s condition worsened, and the doctor advised not to install a mechanical valve (it is provided free of charge), but a biological valve that needs to be purchased independently. So the likelihood of thrombosis will decrease. 31-year-old Irena is the only parent for her son Dmytro who is 11 years old. She had the job of a seller working at the market until she caught a cold. Now Irena's life is on the edge of the balance. What seemed to be a banal cold eventually led to severe pneumonia and other complications, such as the one with the heart, as a result. The open heart surgery for the valve replacement is urgently needed now. Otherwise, it is done the sooner the better, Irena does not have any chance to survive.

UPD: we increased the amount of the project, because before the operation Irena’s condition worsened, and the doctor advised not to install a mechanical valve (it is provided free of charge), but a biological valve that needs to be purchased independently. So the likelihood of thrombosis will decrease.
31-year-old Irena is the only parent for her son Dmytro who is 11 years old. She had the job of a seller working at the market until she caught a cold. Now Irena's life is on the edge of the balance. What seemed to be a banal cold eventually led to severe pneumonia and other complications, such as the one with the heart, as a result. The open heart surgery for the valve replacement is urgently needed now. Otherwise, it is done the sooner the better, Irena does not have any chance to survive. 

We ask you to save the life of this young mother of an 11-year-old boy because otherwise he would be left on his own as his father left them many years ago. What happened to Irena? In November 2018, Irena became seriously ill. It seemed to be a usual cold but that treatment she had at home did not bring any positive result. It became impossible to bring down the high temperature. Once Irena was taken to the hospital in Odesa for examination, she remained there in inpatient treatment with a diagnosis of septic bilateral pneumonia, the hydropericardium of the first degree. Irena had her treatment for the whole month. In December, she was discharged from the hospital. She continued her treatment at home but her illness got worse again. Later on, Irena was taken to the emergency room in the intensive care unit of the Odessa regional hospital with a diagnosis of "polysegmental pneumonia, complications of infective endocarditis, sepsis." Irena spent 5 days in the intensive care unit. Later she was transferred to the ward in the cardiology department.

Today, Irena in the regional hospital. On February 7 a consultation of doctors decided to have an urgent open-heart surgery in order to replace the valve due to the infectious endocarditis on the background of septic bilateral pneumonia. Now, any further treatment of Irena’s pneumonia is impossible until the heart surgery takes place.

There are many relatives in Irena’s family: her mother, her sister Christina (25 years old), two brothers Valik (17 years old) and Yurii (16 years old) as well as her only son Dmytro (11 years old). All of them are waiting for Irena to get back home in a good state of health. Her brothers are schoolchildren, her mother works very hard but she doesn't have enough money either for food or for Irena’s treatment. Irena’s sister Christina does her best to help this situation but she already has debts being unable to cope with neither the prescribed expensive treatment nor with a surgery. The only hope to save Irena is left now: to collect enough money from those who care to keep this woman alive!

At UBB, we collect a part of the required amount – 90,000 UAH for consumables for the operation and a bio-valve. 

Name: Glanz Irena, 20.08.1987

City: Odesa

Diagnosis: Infectious endocarditis of the tricuspid valve. Bilateral polysegmental abscess pneumonia