After birth, I was diagnosed with – congenital internal obstructive hydrocephalus. At age 6 months, I underwent surgery: a shunt was installed that drained excess fluid from the third ventricle of the brain. After the surgery, my condition improved slightly, but I frequently experienced cerebrospinal fluid crises. Despite this, I was able to attend school and also study at a music school, taking violin classes.     In the summer of

  2005 I began to suffer from severe headaches and vomiting. We sought help from a neurosurgeon, who advised that it was time to perform surgery for a second time, as the shunt had become dysfunctional.

5 July 2005 I had the dysfunctional shunt replaced with a new one. In for six months after the surgery, I received individual tutoring because I wasn't feeling very well. After my condition improved, I was able to return to my normal routine: I attended school and continued to study at music school, from which I graduated with honors in 2008 the year.

In 2013 I became a student in the journalism department of the National University «Odesa Law Academy». Dreams began to come true, and I had a fleeting thought that it would continue this way in the future. I thought nothing terrible could happen. But life turned out differently.

In February 2015 I started having severe headaches again. My and parents and I went to a neurosurgeon for an examination, and he discovered shunt dysfunction. I was really hoping that after another surgical procedure I would be able to return to a full life, but my hospital stay dragged on.

In June 2015 I had surgery to install a new bypass system, but postoperative recovery was accompanied by fever and swelling along the bypass. The system became infected, leading to two more surgeries. But these only provided short-term relief.

4 In August, I was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Main Military Hospital of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine with a diagnosis of – meningitis. The doctor who operated on me had exhausted his options. The headaches were so severe that I was losing consciousness 5 as many times a day. Even narcotics didn't help.

In Kyiv, I had a shunt removed because it had stopped functioning, and the cerebral ventricles had practically atrophied. They needed to be restored to normal and a ventriculocisternostomy (an artificial pathway for CSF drainage) was performed.

But the miracle didn't happen; the ventricles didn't dilate, so another shunt had to be inserted. Another shunt malfunctioned a month later, and then several more surgeries followed. But they didn't bring the desired relief. The doctors decided to install another shunt, this time in the spinal canal of the lumbar spine. 

This surgery was extremely risky, as I could have become paralyzed. Moreover, this was the first time the doctors had performed such an intervention. I can't say it was a success. I was plagued by severe back pain and numbness in my right leg every day. There were times when I could barely feel my leg and just dragged it along. But I learned to live with what I had.

Most of my life was spent in the hospital. I suffered from headaches and back pain. My shunts were frequently replaced because they weren't working. I even had two surgeries for cerebrospinal fluid leaks. Imagine: fluid constantly leaking from your back, the wound is stitched up every day, you can't get up, but it's all to no avail.

In August, I had my 17th shunt replacement surgery and thought it would finally be over. I  after all, I had found a job I loved, was studying for my master's degree, and was simply enjoying life.

In December 2018 I began experiencing severe lower back pain and numbness in my lower extremities. But what alarmed me most was my fever 39,4, which didn't seem to be going down. I consulted a neurologist and a neurosurgeon about it, but they didn't suspect anything wrong: they just prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and advised me not to create unnecessary problems for myself. Every second person has back pain, and it's okay, people live. 

I clearly remember that fateful day and the day before. Overall, nothing foreshadowed trouble. 17 December, on Monday, around 22:00 I returned from work; I was thinking about making myself something else for tomorrow so I could sleep in a little longer in the morning, but I finally went to bed.

Around five in the morning, I felt aching in my joints (does everyone have that?) and decided to take my temperature. The thermometer showed a rather unfavorable reading. – 39,4 But I wasn't too alarmed because I had a similar fever two weeks ago. I'd had a blood test and an MRI, which showed nothing wrong. The only thing that was bothering me then was – severe lower back pain, drowsiness, and weakness in my legs. But that happens to everyone after overwork, right? I consulted a neurologist and a neurosurgeon about it, but they didn't suspect anything wrong and just prescribed anti-inflammatory medications.

On that dreadful Tuesday (18 December), I couldn't even imagine that within 24 hours I wouldn't be able to get out of bed. Although I briefly considered spinal problems, I tried to forget about it, especially since the doctors couldn't help. I thought about bringing down my fever and rushing to work, as that day was supposed to be the  annual meeting to review the project staff's work. This had happened before, and everything had gone well, but not this time.

 A few hours later, I realized I wouldn't be able to go to work because my fever hadn't gone down even after taking three different medications, and I'd also developed numbness in my legs, preventing me from even going to the bathroom. This trip took me about 10 minutes. About 18:00 I called my mom and told her the bad news. An hour later, she was at my apartment. I barely made it to the door to open it for her. She rang the doorbell about five times, and I could barely move. My vision was blurring, and it seemed like the end! 3

At 02:00 my mom called an ambulance because there was nothing else to wait for. Nausea accompanied the aforementioned symptoms. We waited an hour for the doctor to arrive. At 03:00 a paramedic and a nurse came into the apartment. The doctor practically rushed to fill out paperwork from the very beginning, and didn't even look at me. I won't even mention that they didn't take my temperature or blood pressure. Then came a phrase that completely stunned me. The doctor asked why we called an ambulance at such a time? Couldn't they have waited until the morning? I don't have any heart problems, so I can wait! Then came an equally strange phrase: "Even if you want to go to the hospital, we have nothing to pick you up in because we came in a car.".

"We waited for another hour for a normal" ambulance. But even then, the surprises weren't over. The doctors couldn't decide what to do with me for a long time. Only after they made a preliminary diagnosis of – meningitis (this was in the absence of a headache) did they agree to take me to a medical facility. I had to move around on my own because there were no people to help me down on a stretcher. This was while the nurse and driver were still in the car.

We arrived at the hospital in 20 minutes, more or less safely, except that my legs kept falling off the stretcher whenever we hit a pothole. The infectious disease specialist on duty came into the car and said I was a patient in a different specialty. She did say so, but no one had called a neurologist or neurosurgeon. We had to go to another hospital.

At 05:00 I crossed the threshold of the emergency room of Kyiv Hospital No. 7. Yes, I did cross the threshold, because no one was willing to provide even a wheelchair. There, a neurologist examined me and said my case was complex and they wouldn't provide me with any care, so it would be better to go home and calm down. My mother insisted on hospitalization, so I stayed there. The doctors didn't know what to do with me: they were afraid to perform a puncture, so they just gave me painkillers. I stayed there for a day.

In the morning of 20 December, we decided to change medical facilities because I could barely feel my legs anymore. But to take the patient to another clinic, we had to call a private ambulance. Because, as it turned out, the hospital didn't have its own ambulances.

When I arrived at the next medical facility, – I was immediately taken to intensive care. I didn't fully grasp the seriousness of the situation. I tried to joke around and begged the doctors to get me better soon, as I had a corporate event coming up in a week, and I'd already bought a red dress for it.

I realized I wouldn't be out of there for a long time when I lost feeling in my stomach and ribs. Then tears appeared in my eyes, and the doctors' diagnosis sounded like a death sentence. – Disseminated arachnomyelitis with filamentous lesions «of the equine cauda». 

 The day before yesterday I was planning a vacation, and today I've become a hostage to my own body. I spent 24 hours in intensive care. They removed the lumbar-peritoneal shunt that had triggered the arachnomyelitis, and administered a 24-hour shock dose of antibiotics and steroids. ... 10 ''''

Before the New Year I was moved to a ward. It seemed that everything should get better, because the holiday that both grown-ups and children wait for was just around the corner! Oh, how I waited for a New Year's miracle… But it did not happen. I fell asleep to the chimes, still a hostage of what had obeyed me all my life. A few days were left until Christmas, and there was no miracle.

A month and a half after I was paralyzed, I was able to move my left leg. I was overjoyed. And when, 3 months after the onset of the disease, I took my first steps, – I burst into tears of joy. At first, I could walk 10 meters, and now, after 11 months of struggle, I can walk 1 kilometers, using a cane.

But new difficulties arrived with the first frosts. I can barely stand upright when there's even a thin layer of ice on the ground, which means practicing walking technique outside becomes impossible. I can get help at a rehabilitation center in Kyiv to preserve the gains I've made with daily three-hour sessions, but a day there costs 1000 UAH. This is an unaffordable amount for my family, and I really don't want to end up in a wheelchair again. Over 11 months of struggle, I've spent about 400 000 UAH.

 If I take a break for even 2 weeks – my muscles forget what they've learned '''', and I have to start all over again! And I so want to forget about my illnesses! Over 23 years, I've undergone 19 surgical interventions and I hope this is the last obstacle on the road to happiness! Help me feel it! I really want to walk without aids and I believe in the help of caring people!                                                                                         

With Respectfully, Maria Levitskaya

From May 2015 to January 2019the charitable foundation raised 17 694,00 UAH for Maria and provided assistance worth 85 531,48 UAH.