Volunteer Marina Anatolyevna Egorova, who lives in . She asked for help in St. Petersburg and helps children from Ukraine, contacted us at raising funds for Lerochka Bagriy, who overcame cancer and hepatitis B. Now she will have to undergo another expensive operation for a liver transplant.
Marina Anatolyevna gave us a letter from Lerochka's mother, which describes the girl's entire life story:
Lerochka grew up a healthy and active child, developing well, and exploring the world around her. But when she turned one year old, in trouble struck. our daughter was diagnosed with a malignant liver tumor. The terrible diagnosis came like a bolt from the blue. From then began the fight for the life of our only child, a fight that has continued for 3 year.
First, an open tumor biopsy was performed, followed by chemotherapy courses, catheters, IVs, endless tests, and the daily, unbearable, heartbreaking cries of our little one. The horror of what we experienced cannot be described in words! Just like the terrifying thoughts that filled our heads during the seven-hour wait outside the operating room door. We thought the worst was over when, after the operation, they told us that a small piece of liver (25%) had taken over its function! But the pain and our Valeria's suffering never ended.
A month after the liver resection, a second operation was performed to adhesions in the intestine and a gallbladder abscess that had formed in the abdominal cavity. An external drain was inserted. With it, Lerochka walked for more than 2 months, as bile did not enter the intestines due to stenosis of the external bile duct. After completion of postoperative chemotherapy, the child was prescribed reconstructive surgery of the external bile ducts. At this the same moment, the baby was diagnosed with hepatitis B, which she infected with through a blood transfusion during the surgery. And shock again! The remaining piece of liver after the resection is infected with an insidious virus that destroys the cells of this organ. We are back in the fight! They began another expensive treatment for hepatitis B. The amount of virus in the blood during treatment was successfully decreasing, but the child's condition, on the contrary, was worsening. Lera's drainage system fell out, and she turned yellow. Due to high bilirubin and liver enzyme levels, the child could not undergo surgery.
The surgeons said that Lera would not undergo reconstructive surgery. They needed to treat the hepatitis and wait for improvement in her test results. A since our little one has two factors leading to cirrhosis of the liver, surgeons at the O. O. Shalimov Institute (Kyiv) suggested immediately performing a liver transplant. We weren't quite sure why perform a transplant if the liver was still in good order at that time. In the examination revealed that we, the parents, unfortunately cannot become donors for our daughter. the father was diagnosed with an anatomical anomaly of the organ (resection is not possible), and the mother had acute hepatitis B, having contracted the infection through contact with the child's blood.
A decision was made to seek assistance from the Minsk Organ Transplant Clinic, which performs liver transplants from deceased donors (in Ukraine, only related transplants from living donors are permitted). In October 2011 Valeria was placed on the donor organ waiting list. To our great joy, a person was quickly found who donated thousands of US dollars for Lerochka's operation. 50 And we were ready to go to the clinic even on the same day, but there was no donor organ for our daughter.
The situation didn't change even after 10 months. The baby's condition worsened: the yellowing of her skin increased (bilirubin levels rose), and bile acids were absorbed into the blood, poisoning her body. Lerochka became lethargic and indifferent to food. Unable to wait, we sent documents and my daughter's photos to the Belgian Saint-Luc Clinic.
When we received the answer that we could try to save our little one's liver and possibly avoid a transplant, we, without hesitation decided to go to this clinic, where we are currently at the moment. Belgian doctors did everything possible to — install an external drain to allow bile to drain. But, to our great regret, there was no improvement in her condition. The bile did not drain for too long, and as a result, our daughter developed cirrhosis of the liver. Much time was lost! It turns out that a year ago, our child's liver could have been saved. But now only a transplant can help Valeria survive!
As it turns out, in Belgium, liver donors can be not only blood relatives, but also even godparents. To save our little girl, her godfather agreed to donate part of his liver. And now that we already have a donor, we can have this life-saving surgery at Brussels Saint-Luc Hospital. Moreover, there's still no news from the Minsk clinic until . A donor organ, and especially a child's, can take years and, worst of all, never to arrive. Our only daughter now has a chance to survive!
Surgery is needed in the near future — the child's condition is worsening, bilirubin levels in blood are now 25 times higher than normal. My heart is breaking into pieces when your 3 year-old daughter keeps saying: «How I'm so sick of all this! When will all of this end?» And I can't give her the answer to this question, because I don't know it myself. Our only hope is you, who care about the grief of others!
Please help us raise a sum that is unaffordable for our young family and pay for this expensive operation. Lera has just one step left on her path to a normal life, which I hope she can take with your help.
We know our daughter will overcome everything, because she is Valeria, which means «strong»!
We hope for a successful surgery and speedy recovery for Lera.
