Stepchin Vika

The Stepchin family asks all caring people to help and prevent their only daughter from being cut open. Vika has a congenital heart defect—a secondary defect of the interatrial septum. The family learned about this terrible diagnosis by chance. Until now, Vika would have had to undergo surgery by the conventional method (open‑heart surgery with a heart‑lung machine and lung ventilation, requiring a sternotomy).

Even the girl was placed on the waiting list for hospitalization, and when her turn came, they could not come because the child became very ill. Recently the family learned about the possibility of closing the defect by an endovascular method (with an occluder) without cutting the sternum, with less trauma for the little one. After another examination Vika said to her mother: “Mom! Don’t worry, I know my heart is sick!” The girl urgently needs surgery, as she frequently gets colds (laryngitis, tonsillitis, otitis, bronchitis, adenoiditis) and constantly undergoes inpatient and outpatient treatment. Such frequent illnesses can cause complications to the heart. For the purchase of the occluder, the family lacks 32 000 UAH. The family has only one father who works, whose salary is not high. Therefore the sum of 32 thousand is unattainable for the Stepchin family.

Victoria is a very energetic, cheerful, and intelligent little girl. She loves drawing and sings beautifully. Her cognitive development is far ahead of her age. She began speaking at five months, could name all animals and count to ten by one year. At three years old she recited Chukovsky’s poems from memory and started reading. She is trying to write fairy tales. She wants to learn English, dance, and attend various clubs. After completing the first grade, she received her first certificates. However, due to illness she cannot live a full life like other children.

Vika’s mom and dad pray for their little daughter every day and appeal to all caring hearts: “We greatly hope for your support—don’t let this tiny heart fade! Don’t let this little flower wilt! Together we are strong, but alone we are nothing! Perhaps this child will one day help you too! We believe our daughter will be healthy!”

In the UBB project, 11 donors took part, and the required amount was raised thanks to all the caring people. Unfortunately, by coincidence, Vika could not come for the scheduled surgery on 10.02.14 because on 05.02.14 she fell ill with purulent sinusitis and was hospitalized in Rivne. Our foundation purchased an occluder for her, which waited until her full recovery. Immediately after recovering from the sinusitis, Vika was ill with purulent tonsillitis from 18.02.14 to 08.03.14. The child needed a long time to recuperate from the illnesses. Three months passed from the moment the funds were collected and the implant was purchased until Vika’s recovery. Finally, on 24.04.2014, a successful operation was performed at the Scientific and Practical Center of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in Kyiv. The Stepchin family considers this to be their daughter’s second birthday, as this year Vika’s birthday coincided with the second day of Easter, and right after this bright holiday the child underwent a successful surgery.

Full name: Stepczyn Viktoria Mykolaivna

Date of birth: 21.04.2006

Diagnosis: Congenital heart defect – secondary defect of the interatrial septum

All details and documentation are here.