Valeriia Konoplii

Ten‑year‑old Valeria has a congenital heart defect – an open arterial duct that was discovered by accident. In January 2015 the girl suffered from a severe form of scarlet fever, after which she was referred for a routine examination with a cardiologist. During the examination it was found that Valeria has a congenital heart defect, which the family had not known about before. Doctors recommend closing the defect soon, as the child is growing and the load on the heart is increasing, which could negatively affect the girl’s health.

Besides that, Lera is allergic and has a patent ductus arteriosus. Doctors do not recommend an open‑heart surgery with this diagnosis because complications could arise. The surgery itself is free of charge, but the intracardiac implant (a spiral) used to close the defect costs the Konoplii family a very large sum – 37 000 UAH. Project goal: to permanently cure the girl’s heart and give her a chance at a full life.

Mother raises her daughter alone, as she divorced the child's father. The father never worked and provided no assistance. Mother and Valeriia are now in a very difficult situation; they have no housing and live with their grandmother and grandfather. Mother works as a senior lab assistant at the National University of Physical Education and Sport. Their monthly income for mother and child is about 1 500 UAH. To gather the necessary amount for an intracardiac implant for her beloved only daughter will take years, which, unfortunately, Valeriia does not have.

Lera is a very active and cheerful child, loves sports and dreams of becoming an athlete. To make this a reality and fulfill the girl's dream, surgery is needed. We appeal to all caring and kind people: please help raise the necessary amount for an implant for Lera Konoplii. Let’s together give a 10‑year‑old girl the chance for a long and happy life!

Since the child needed an urgent operation, we decided not to delay and immediately asked UBB for help in raising funds for an intracardiac implant, so that together we could help Valeriia Konopel. The project started on 18.02.15. The fundraising was carried out using an online service. The project involved 124 donors, and to the happiness of the Konopel family, on 30.03.15 the required amount was collected, thanks to all the caring people who could not remain indifferent to the fate of the lively Lierochka.

On 07.04.2015, a successful operation to implant an intracardiac device was performed at the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery. Thanks to the intervention, on 09.04.2015 the child was discharged from the clinic with a healthy heart. Lera was very lucky, thanks to all the caring people who responded to the plight of the Konoplii family and timely performed the life‑saving operation for their child. Now the girl can live a full life without knowing any heart pain

Full name: Valeriia Ihorivna Konoplii, 18.06.2005

City: Kyiv

Diagnosis: congenital heart defect – patent arterial duct

All details and documentation are here.