Straighten life

The girl from Lviv will be eleven years old in a month. Whatever her parents gave her for her birthday, Romania, of course, will be happy. Only she herself and her parents know what they most want. The child has a hard form of scoliosis, and only difficult operation can help - the installation of a metal structure on the spine. They are ready to conduct it in the Kharkov clinic, but the operation is very expensive and is not covered by the state quota. And the parents of Romagna, who bring up two daughters, have no such money.It has been noted: seriously ill children are not exactly children.

That means, they are, of course, children, but often behave like adults. Perhaps this can be explained by too early confrontation with serious difficulties, with pain. It does not discount for age. Like adults, children live their diseases differently. Someone goes into himself, and someone does not just fight with the disease but lives as if there is no disease. Romania – from the second category. She has a severe diagnosis: combined scoliosis of the 4th degree. But at the same time, Romania leads an active life, which not every healthy girl or boy can boast. The drawing – Romagna, like many children of her age, loves to draw. The singing – the girl loves to sing. The sports section – according to the coach, the girl is trying very hard and is making progress despite health problems.
Almost always after classes, Romagna comes home pale and lies silently in bed. She does not complain, but Galina already knows that her daughter is in pain, and again asks: "Daughter, why do you need so many sections? You're so tired. Maybe you will not go anywhere?". "I will", Romania immediately replies, quietly, but very firmly.

From 2016, Romania’s spine began to bend strongly. The girl had a full rehabilitation course - but neither medical gymnastics, nor massages, nor electrical stimulation of the back muscles helped. There was only hope for a hard corset of Chenot. "It is like to torture, as a Spanish boot", sighs Galina. "Hard plastic squeezes the body. It must be worn day and night. Our Romania is very patient, but sometimes she brokes down: "Everything hurts!". The worst thing is that all the suffering was in vain. The angle of curvature of the spine increased. Corset did not help...

A year later, an X-ray photograph showed spinal curvature of 35 degrees and during the winter it began to increase, taking the shape of the letter S. At the consultation in the Institute of Pathology of the spine named by M.I. Sitenko doctors said that the curvature is rapidly progressing and scoliosis has already reached the fourth degree, a combined form. If you do not do an urgent operation, there will be interruptions in the work of the heart and lungs. The last study of respiratory function showed that it decreased by 30 percent. In the future – severe disability...

The problem is that a high-tech operation that can save a girl, and a metal structure for fixing the spine costs a lot of money and is not covered by the state quota now. And Romania has no time to wait. Scoliosis will completely disfigure her. I ask Romanii a question: "Have you already thought about how your life will change after the operation?". She replies: “Can they help me?", the girl asks enthusiastically. "I will become a man with a straight back. I can normally study, meet with friends, walk around Lviv. Live".

Name: Tlusta Romania, 30.11.2006

City: Lviv

Diagnosis: combined scoliosis of the fourth degree