Requires: rehabilitation course in the center “Rodnik” (Spring), St. Petersburg, worth 206,000 rubles.
Diagnosis: cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia, delayed development of speech and psychomotor skills, anterior curvature of the lumbar spine, equinovalgus feet deformity, severe hearing loss (left-ear cochlear implant).
Kirill was born prematurely – at 27 weeks of pregnancy. The newborn failed to breathe and following birth he was transferred to ICU and put on a ventilator. After a month spent in the ICU of Volgograd Oblast Children’s Clinical Hospital the baby started breathing on his own and was taken to the ward. A week later he got a lot worse and once again he wound up in the ICU. Finally, when he was three months old Kirill was discharged and taken home.
Upon discharge every two months his mom took him to Volgograd for examination, treatment and rehabilitation. One of those days an attending physician told the baby’s mother that Kirill was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
From his mother Olesya’s letter:
“My little boy has been diagnosed with a lot of severe diseases. When I heard about cerebral palsy, I was at a loss – I just didn’t know what to do, where to run and ask for help and how to support my baby. I started reading a lot of medical literature and looking for the right clinics. We took free rehabilitation courses as we couldn’t afford to pay.
When Kirill turned 18 months, I noticed that he didn’t respond to his name. I made an appointment with a teacher of kids with hearing impairments at the district hospital which is 220 km far from our village. There’s no bus service, so I found a car with a driver and Kirill and I went for the appointment. We went four times but Kirill was never examined – the doctor either didn’t want to spare electrodes for the screening or she was just absent on the day of appointment. On our fifth attempt we were advised to go for examination to Astrakhan. Once again I arranged for the car to take us there which cost almost the whole of Kirill’s social pension. But in Astrakhan we had no luck again – the equipment broke down. When I left the doctor’s office with tears strolling down my face, I met a young woman who advised me to contact a specialized institution in St. Petersburg and go there.
We made it only 1.5 months later – we’d been waiting for our turn. Upon arrival Kirill had a few tests and was examined – and the following day the doctor said that Kirill had severe hearing loss which means that he’s almost deaf. Kirill needed an urgent operation as we’d already wasted a lot of time. We came back home, collected all the paperwork and signed up for a subsidy for the surgery.
We’d already applied for disability benefits, so everything worked out pretty fast. In the summer of 2016 Kirill was operated on and in September we went to St. Petersburg for the cochlear implant set-up. My son got a chance to hear!
Apart from classes with a speech therapist and a teacher of kids with hearing impairments we also do our best to take massage courses and physical therapy as often as possible to maintain skills that it took hard work for Kirill to gain.
My sonny is pulling out all the stops, it’s all very hard for him, but step by step we’re getting closer to our biggest dream – for Kirill to walk on his own. He is a real fighter. Kirill is a cheerful and active boy. He is keen on Lego construction toys, listening to music and playing with toy race cars. Kirill loves pets and walks in the street – in summer he would play in the playground for kids or swim in the pool, in winter he’s fond of sledging and making a snowman.
This year Kirill started school with private tuition. His favourite subjects are Maths and Handicraft. My son is now nine years old and he’s already accomplished a lot – he can sit by himself, stand with support and walk holding someone’s hand – so far on his toes and his knees bent. That happens because of hypersthenia which prevents him from walking in an upright posture. The doctors say that Kirill is a very promising kid and he is likely to stand up on his feet and make his first independent steps. However, we can’t cope all by ourselves. We need a rehabilitation course in the center “Rodnik” (Spring), but the cost is an enormous amount of money for us.
My son and I work hard every day – and we’ve already made good progress. I believe that the day will come when my son will make his first steps. But we’ve still got a long way to go.
Kirill, as all the kids with such developmental disabilities, desperately needs continuous support. You can’t cure a disease like this with a single pill or rehabilitation course.
We are going to great lengths but with your help and donations we can achieve much more – your support is invaluable to us!
Please help my son take the rehabilitation course!”