Last September, Maskym, a sponsored child from our Ternopil site in Ukraine, came home from school with a sharp headache and high fever. Svitlana, his mother, kept Maksym home from school for two days thinking he had the flu. Maksym, however, just kept getting sicker. Svitlana also noticed that his head was constantly tilting to one side.
Svitlana brought Maksym to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with swelling of the brain. Treatment, however, had no effect. Maksym was quickly transferred to larger hospital where he underwent a variety of blood tests. It was soon discovered that he suffered from Lyme Disease. After a few days of antibiotics, he improved and was sent home.
Just one month later, Maksym became sick once again. Doctors informed the family that Maksym would need to be treated for upwards of one year to see improvement. Worst of all, the disease had caused many complications, such as inflammation of the brain stem, chest, stomach, heart, and kidney and pancreas issues.
Maskym’s family was devastated. Svitlana, a single mother of two, supports her sons solely through her small home farm. Even when combined with all of Maksym’s sponsorship funds, her income would not nearly be enough to cover the climbing medical bills.
Maksym’s older brother got a job so he could take out a loan to help out. Nonetheless, the family’s resources were quickly depleted as Maksym was in and out of hospital over the course of a few months.
Recognizing Maksym’s dire situation, we launched a critical needs fund in an attempt to raise $1,154 to help Maksym’s family pay medical bills and continue his treatment.
Our kind donors came together to raise all of the required funds incredibly quickly! Shortly after the funds arrived, Maksym fell ill with a blood infection from the Lyme Disease, but was able to receive care immediately, preventing any potentially dangerous complications.
Maksym finally returned home, only to be readmitted due to pancreatic dysfunction. Thanks to the funds, Maksym was again treated and was also able to receive an MRI of his head and neck, and ultrasound, and EKG and cardiac echo, and a variety of other tests to pinpoint any other potential issues. He was also able to receive some massage therapy and antibiotic injections.
Today, Maksym is finally home and following close instructions from his doctor to continue treating his Lyme Disease. “Thanks to Chalice’s quick response, Maksym was able to receive all of the required care,” says Luba, our Ternopil site director. “Svitlana is very appreciative for the support, and admits she would never have been able to make it on her own. May God bless!”
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