My name is Sergey Ivanovich Gozhda, and I live with my family in the village of Adamovka, Ivanovsky District, Odessa Oblast. I am the father of two children. Our happy family life was cut short by our son Ivan's illness. It all began in November 2017 of 2018. Our child developed a fever and became lethargic. At the district hospital, we were told Vanya had a virus and prescribed a course of antibiotics. But after the treatment, our son didn't feel any better. We even noticed a deterioration in his health: he began experiencing severe abdominal pain, lost his appetite, and his belly had significantly swelled. We went back to the hospital. Vanya had an abdominal ultrasound and discovered a tumor measuring 14 cm. We were referred to the Odessa Regional Clinical Hospital to confirm the diagnosis.

After a series of tests, our worst fears were confirmed. Vanya was diagnosed with – retroperitoneal neuroblastoma 4 with metastases to the liver and right lung. He was prescribed the first round of chemotherapy.

Vanya is currently undergoing his fourth round of chemotherapy and a course of antibiotics. He has a periodic fever and low white blood cell count. He is scheduled for an MRI in mid-May, which will show the tumor's size. If the tumor has shrunk by 90 % , surgery will be necessary to remove it. If the results are still disappointing, more chemotherapy will be prescribed. Vanya will then undergo a bone marrow transplant from a donor.

We cannot afford these costs ourselves, so we are asking for help from caring people. We believe we can save our boy!

 

For information on how to help, see here.