Klapiichuk Solomiia

Letter from a mother:

With this letter I am reaching out to you—I am the mother of two‑year‑old Solomiia Klapiiichuk. In 2013 I learned that I was pregnant and joyfully awaited my first child. The pregnancy progressed well, but the delivery was stimulated with a catheter and lasted two days. The day after birth the baby underwent a heart ultrasound, and we were told that she had a mixed heart condition, so she was transferred to a hospital for more extensive examination.

During the examination, high bilirubin was detected and a diagnosis of a congenital heart defect (interventricular septal defect, open atrial and oval openings) was made. The child was under a cardiologist’s supervision the whole time, constantly ill, and we almost lived in hospitals. After six months we went to Kyiv to the Cardiology Institute of the Heart, where we were told that surgery would be needed, but at that time they kept her under observation. When the child turned 1.5 years old, we came for a follow‑up examination to the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery. After the exam we were told that our one‑and‑a‑half‑year‑old girl’s heart had enlarged to the size of an adult’s, and an operation was performed immediately.

The operation lasted six hours; the girl's chest was opened completely, and the entire time all of her organs were disconnected and attached to artificial machines. The surgery did not go as we expected: the defect in the interventricular septum was fully corrected, but the arterial duct did not close completely. The postoperative period was very difficult; the child became nervous, started being afraid of everything, and cried and screamed all night. The child always had to be supervised so she wouldn't fall, hit herself, or injure her chest. For me, as a mother, it was psychologically painful to watch my child suffer, and I am unable to help her.

In six months the arterial duct has enlarged threefold. We need to undergo another surgery, placing a coil that costs about 30 281 UAH. But, unfortunately, we cannot raise such funds, because we live with my parents in a village, the child requires individual care since she gets sick very often, and I am unable to go to work. My husband is a third‑group disabled person (his right arm was amputated at the elbow, which required three surgeries), so physically he cannot work. We survive on my husband’s occasional side jobs and the pensions of my husband and child. This amount is not enough for ordinary treatment, and to gather the money for the implant we would not even have enough to live.

No matter how hard we try to earn and save, we can’t raise the funds needed for our daughter’s treatment. We are deeply sorry that, as parents, we cannot gather the money ourselves and help our Solomiika… Therefore, we appeal to all caring people for assistance—to give our little girl a chance at a long, full and happy future!

“Therefore we are pleading: please help us save our little daughter!”

Full name: Solomiia Dmytrivna Klapiychuk, 31.03.2014

City: Chernivtsi region

Diagnosis: congenital heart defect – patent arterial duct

All details and documentation are here.