Manchenko Mariika

Mariika has a sick heart. She was born with a congenital heart defect—a ventricular septal defect. It can only be corrected through surgery to implant a special device (an occluder), which costs more than 100 000 UAH. For a single mother raising her daughter, this amount is astronomical. Therefore, the woman is forced to turn to caring people for help in order to save her little girl’s life.

Mariika was born with a congenital heart defect, and from the first days of her life she has been under constant monitoring at the cardio center in Dnipro. Now Mariika is almost five years old, and unfortunately there have been no improvements in her health. In May 2017, doctors reported that the girl needs heart surgery to close the defect using an occluder.

Mariika lives with her mother, just the two of them, and her mother tried to earn the money for the implant on her own, but everything went off plan. All the woman's hopes were shattered, because instead of helping her daughter, she fell into debt. And time keeps rushing by, the little girl is growing and becoming very ill. She has diffuse atopic dermatitis, which means she cannot receive vaccinations for now, not even the essential ones. As a result, viruses keep “sticking” to her, and treating them requires antibiotics. This, in turn, leads to irreversible consequences—complications for the heart. For a while, Mariika had to be isolated from other children and give up going to kindergarten in order to avoid any infections.

Mariia began getting tired quickly, and it's very hard for her to explain why she can't run with friends or why she has to go outside in a mask. However, we can help the girl! Support us!

Full name: Manchenko Mariia Oleksandrivna, 10.07.2013

City: Synelnykove, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

Diagnosis: congenital heart defect – ventricular septal defect

All details and documentation are here.