It's not for long, I'll soon be walking!

Andrii was a healthy and active child, he loved to communicate with friends and play football. But due to the accident, his life has changed dramatically. At the age of 6.5 and 7, he twice suffered a serious injury – a fractured and dislocated cervical spine C1-C3, with a displacement. Doctors did not give him a chance to live. Andrii had five the most complicated operations on the spine. He was on the ventilatory support for a long time. Now Andrey does not stand, does not walk, moves in a wheelchair. The child's spine is fixed with a special titanium implant at the level of 1-5 vertebrae.

The first injury was sustained at the age of 6.5 and was operated at the Institute of Neurosurgery in Kyiv on June 2015. The implant placement operation was successful. A month later, he was already at home. But after a month, Andrey fell off his bicycle and the whole construction has moved. In February 2016, he had his second surgery, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Three months later, he had to undergo operation again. After the third operation, the condition was severe; the child did not breathe on his own and was on the ventilator for more than a month. After this operation, Andrii could not get back on his feet anymore.

Images show that the odontoid bones of the vertebrae are embedded into the spinal cord. In February and March 2018, there were two operations to remove them. The operations were successful, and the recovery period has begun. Andrii has been undergoing rehabilitation for over a year. He has very good dynamics. The next course is scheduled in the center of Dr. Bubnovskyi, it cost 60 536 UAH. For a rural family, this cost is an impracticable amount. Andrey‘s mother is a person with a disability, Andrey does not have father. Most of all Andrii wants to return to a full life, go to school, and play football. He dreams of becoming a police officer. When children walking with their parents ask why such an adult boy in a wheelchair, Andrey does not hesitate to say: "It won't take a long time, I'll walk soon!".

Support Andrii, please!

Name: Gurtovyi Andrii, 26.09.2007

City: Gulianka village, Odessa region

Diagnosis: fracture-dislocation of the craniovertebral joints, post-traumatic compression of the spinal cord, the condition after repeated surgery, spastic tetraparesis