Required: rehabilitation course in the medical center “Sakura” (Chelyabinsk), worth 260,850 rubles.
Diagnosis: cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia.
Danila’s life story started much earlier that it should have – he was born prematurely and weighed 1,200g at birth. In Pathology Unit he managed to pull through, gain some weight and was discharged along with his mom.
The local pediatrician in their potty little town was comforting Danila’s mother, saying that the boy was lagging behind in his development due to his premature birth but he should catch up later – the doctor shared success stories from her practice. So, Danila’s mom still had a glimmer of hope – every three months they were admitted to Neurology Unit of the local hospital for a checkup. But then, when Danila turned one, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The news came as a bombshell.
From his mother’s letter:
“Back in 2008 I had no Internet, so I couldn’t get any information about the diagnosis and potential treatment plans. The doctors shrugged their shoulders: “Live with it – he won’t be able even to sit, let alone walk or attend to himself”. The only thing they recommended to do was apply for social benefits. It actually helped a lot at that time as we got the opportunity to apply for a paid checkup from the Ministry of Health and go to Moscow. Unfortunately, free treatment course is provided only once per quota – the same goes for rehabilitation. For a child with such severe disorders as Danila has it’s just a drop in the bucket. I got in touch with other mothers whose kids suffer from similar disorders and found out about private medical centers, various methods and approaches. So, we began our trips searching for the right expert and the right medical center. Now, 13 years later, I know for sure what methods and exercises benefit my child. We’ve found the center which implements complex approach to rehabilitation and we’re dreaming of another course there.
Danila can now stand next to support on his own and move around with support. He can also ride an orthopedic bike. He is a sixth grader who studies adaptive program. We have a long way to go as the key goal is to help Danila adapt to everyday life so that he could attend to himself in the future. But that requires regular rehabilitation courses and exercises with the guidance from qualified experts.
Danila benefits from each rehabilitation course. He is growing up, and every year it’s getting physically harder to help him. It’s essential to teach the child to move around on his own, with almost no support from me. It will help him enormously – so far he mostly depends on me for everything. But he’s already a teenager, so he needs to communicate with his peers and become more independent.
I’m a single mother and I can’t work as my son requires continuous care and rehabilitation. The only income of our family is social benefits. We can’t afford to pay for expensive treatment courses. I’m asking everyone who can’t stay indifferent to our hardships to hear our request and help Danila get closer to his dream – to become a full-fledged society member and avoid life in a wheelchair.
In case the funds raised to treat a particular child exceed the required amount, the balance shall be used to cover treatment for other children and other expenses associated with the present program (Clause 1.6.3 of the “Regulations on the charity program of targeted help “Shag Navstrechu” (Take a Step).