Life without fear and self-pity

Ivan has been fighting for his health since childhood. The boy was born with a serious test - a congenital heart defect, a ventricular septal defect. In 2018, he underwent a complex open-heart surgery at the Kyiv Heart Center.

– I am used to fighting. Since childhood. It just didn’t work out otherwise, – Ivan says calmly. It was my first big fight. At that time, I didn’t fully understand how serious everything was, but I knew that I had to be brave, I had to hold on, he recalls.

After the first operation, the life of the Prykhodko family didn’t get any easier. The doctors discovered another problem in the boy – a chest defect. It is depressed, which affects the functioning of internal organs and his general physical condition.

– It was not easy to learn about another illness, and especially about the limitations that I had to live with. But I didn’t want to live with the feeling that I was weaker than others, – says Ivan.

Ivan grew up in Kramatorsk, a city that lives every day to the sounds of sirens and enemy shelling. But instead of fear and self-pity, he chose courage and strength. Character traits that no illness can break.

After the doctors gave him permission, the boy began to actively engage in sports: first kickboxing, then athletics, and later weightlifting. Sport became for him not just a hobby, but a way to hold on, live and not lose faith.

– Sport became a real salvation for me, – says Ivan. It helped not only the body, but also the mind. I understood that only courage and faith would help me and my family survive another test.

Having reached adulthood, Ivan’s parents planned another operation – to correct the chest defect. But in the summer of 2025, new symptoms appeared: back pain, muscle swelling, cramps.

– I thought it was just overwork or a pinched nerve. But the pain did not go away, – recalls Ivan.

In early 2026, Ivan was brought for a consultation in Dnipro, to the Rudnev Mother and Child Center. After examinations, the center's specialists diagnosed the boy with a difficult diagnosis - progressive S-shaped scoliosis. In a short time, the situation has worsened significantly. Ivan needs complex treatment and surgery, which requires significant funds. He has repeatedly proven his courage, that he can be strong, that he knows how to fight - but this time he needs support.

– This is no longer just discomfort. It's about whether I can live normally, move forward, breathe, do my favorite sport. I really want to live without pain, – Ivan says, taking a deep breath.

Ivan's story is a story of strength, courage and faith. But even the strongest need help.

Therefore, do not stay away. Any contribution - large or small - brings Ivan closer to a life without pain, to freedom of movement and to the future that he is fighting for so much. Let's help the boy together!