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Ira T-va, Vitya D., Serezha Ch., Artem, Katya K. and Ruslan, Anton M-o, Nastya L-va, Alla T., Kolya B. and Sasha Ch-m, Denis K. and Valera B., Gena B., Vanya V-ov, Alesha K.

News of the You Are Not Alone program

 Orphans who have undergone treatment within the You Are Not Alone program

 Orphans who have been adopted
Ira T-va 17.08.2006 Ira T-va from the Far Eastern town of Birobidzhan was admitted to the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery. Ira is already 9 years old, but she has the same problem as little Katya: cleft upper lip and cleft hard and soft palate. Children with this disorder should be operated when they are about two, and Ira is already nine. Since Ira has received no surgical treatment until now, she cannot speak normally. So, the girl is to have very long multistage treatment and lessons with a speech therapist.
Everybody liked Ira very much. In spite of her problems, the girl is very inquisitive, sociable, smiling. She has already made friends with volunteer Ilya and masters computer quests together with him. Ampther volunteer named Nina tried to teach her the ABC, and Ira memorized many of them at once. Nina says that Ira is a very kind and affectionate girl. Ira also sings songs with our musician Vova Shishkarev with great enthusiasm, although she cannot articulate the words. It turned out that she has a good ear for music.
Let us hope that the doctors will manage to correct Ira's problems to the maximum extent and this charming girl will yet have a good destiny.
2.09.2006 Ira has recently had her surgery. She is already feeling better and more optimistic. Ira after the first surgery So far the mother of another girl from the same ward takes such good care of Ira as if she were her own daughter. So, Ira's postsurgical period is fairly smooth. Besides, volunteers visit her often. Next week, we will hire a nurse for Ira.
3.10.2006 Ira T-va is recovering after the surgery. She was lucky to have a nurse who is a former school teacher, and now she studies all the necessary school subjects: maths, reading, writing, etc. Imagine that Ira hasn't had any lessons earlier owing to her disorder and could neither read nor write! But she is quite smart, understands everything very quickly and writes accurately and correctly.
10.10.2006 The doctors are planning Ira's second surgery in two months. The girl will stay at hospital till that moment; a speech therapist and a teacher are working with her.
7.11.2006 Galina, the nurse who takes care of Ira T-va, tells about her:
"We have been studying with Ira for six weeks. We started from the very beginning, so to speak. Ira has already learned 12 letters and tries to read, although it is still difficult for her. She also started writing and knows some arithmetic and simple geometry. Also, a speech therapist gives her two lessons each week, and the result is already noticeable.
Actually, Ira is quite bright. She makes very interesting models with toy construction sets and draws with pleasure.
On November 5, Ira turned 10 years old, and we went to the zoo together with her. She was amazed. It was the first visit to a zoo in her life. We will also go to the circus. The only problem is the cold weather: Ira has no warm boots and no autumn cap.
She is a kind and sweet girl. But she doesn't want to speak about her orphanage or return there. She dreams of becoming a doctor and curing other children."
30.11.2006 Recently Ira had another surgery; this time it was correction of her nose. Although her face is still swollen, the wonderful result is already visible.

9.02.2006 Ira has recovered after the next operation. The girl's nice face bears almost no scars after the surgical intervention, and it is just impossible to guess how she looked when she first arrived at our hospital!
During these several months at our hospital, Ira has become our good friend. She has already learned a lot, and now she is trying to master the school curriculum. Ira's disorder has been neglected for such a long time that her case appears unique. Nevertheless, the physicians are sure that the girl has good chances for a normal life.
Of course, rehabilitation of such a child may require many months and even years. The girl needs professional help of speech therapists, teachers, and psychologists. And, of course, she needs a family with loving parents.
The mother of another girl from the same ward has told us about her impressions of Ira:
"I am Tatiana Kresanova. I want to tell about Ira, an orphan girl with whom my daughter and I have spent two weeks in one hospital ward. I loved Ira very much. She is far from perfect, but this is just what makes her especially interesting.
Ira is full of energy. She is open to everything. She is rude when somebody is rude to her; she is kind when somebody is kind to her. She is capable of real love. Nobody will be indifferent to her. Some will be irritated, but some will feel interest and respect toward her.
Ira is quite smart. She keenly understands the world around her and her own situation.
Ira can do a lot. She takes good care of herself and of things around her: makes her own bed, takes a shower, brushes her teeth, makes tea, washes her linen, etc. The only thing she needs is the teachers' attention, so that she could learn to read, write, and count well enough. And the main thing is that she should learn to speak. But she can master everything, it is just that somebody should work with her.
And, of course, Ira needs a lot of warmth and love from adults and children."
15.02.2007 Ira T-va also had to go back to her orphanage. The Department of Maxillofacial Surgery seems empty and sad without her. We are worried about this girl's destiny. Thanks to the doctors, she has a normal face now, but so much time has been missed in her teaching and development! We only hope that she will yet manage to learn everything.
Vitya D. 17.08.2006 A new small kid with hydrocephaly, a social orphan, was admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery. Vitya D. is six months old. The doctors have started the examination. The boy's condition is more or less fine.
Everybody at the department liked Vitya. Mothers of other children take care of him with pleasure and say that he is smart and obedient, that he likes contacts with adults.
29.08.2006 Vitya has been discharged from hospital. The prognosis is good: the doctors have concluded that the congenital disorder will not develop any further and no treatment is required. Vitya needs only parental love and care, nothing else. However, he still has heart problems: a congenital cardiac anomaly. In November 2006, the kid will be taken to the Bakulev Institute of Heart Surgery to decide on an operation. The boy is very quiet, with such attentive eyes that you can hardly believe he is only a small kid. When volunteers took him in their arms, he looked at them with such intensity and concentration, as if asking, "Where is my mom?" Mothers of other children from the same department say that the boy has become simply unrecognizable after three weeks at the hospital, where he was always together with a kind and attentive nurse, who carried him in her arms and spoke to him. We hope that this little kid will indeed have a mother some time.
Sergei Ch. 17.08.2006 A boy of nine, Serezha (Sergei) Ch., has been admitted to the Department of Coloproctology. Currently he is under medical examination. The boy is very sociable and loves telling stories about his adventures and about his friends at the orphanage. He reads a lot and loves all kinds of technical devices. He wants to become a professional in repairing cars and bikes when he grows up.
Artem 9.08.2006 Little Artem is 1.5 years old. This social orphan is from Tver. He is at the Department of Neurosurgery with hydrocephaly. The boy has fever, and the surgery has to be postponed. Our nurse takes good care of the small kid.
29.08.2006 Artem's condition is very grave. The main disease has caused an extensive infection. The boy has been transferred to the intensive care unit. It was impossible to perform the surgery.
2.09.2006 We regret to tell you that little Artem died. He received medical help too late.
Katya K. Ruslan 9.08.2006 Two little kids from Ivanovo have been admitted to the Department of Psychoneurology No. 2. They are Katya K. (2 years old) and Ruslan (1 year 9 months old). Nanny Nadezhda takes care of both. Since the kids are very active and restless, it is sometimes difficult to look after them. It would be fine to have a playpen. We will be thankful if any of our readers can provide a large usable playpen.
Anton M-o 21.07.06 A boy of 1 year 10 months has been admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology for a medical examination. His name is Anton M-o. He is accompanied by a nurse from his orphanage, which is located very far, in the Sakhalin island (Far East). The kid is very quiet and obedient.
Nastya L-va 21.07.06 A girl of three, Nastya L-va, has again been admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation. She is a smiling and quiet kid, not fretful at all. Nurses from this department look after her and say that it is a pleasure.
29.08.2006 Nastya has been discharged after a treatment course.
Alla T. 21.07.06 Alla T., a girl of 14, has been admitted to the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery. Alla is from Chukotka, a far-away region in the northeastern part of Russia. She will have a surgery for cleft upper lip. Alla has an artistic nature: she loves singing, embroidering, and reciting verse. She also likes sports and plans to learn to play volley-ball next year. This girl is very sociable, but presently she has nobody to speak to at her ward and feels a bit lonely.
15.08.2006 After a successful surgery, Alla is going to be discharged from hospital.
17.09.2007 Alla arrived at our hospital again. She has turned 16. This girl is kind, optimistic, and very talented. She draws and makes beautiful things from leather. She dreams of becoming a designer. Alla was glad to be back in Moscow, because she had the best memories of her last stay at our hospital.
27.09.2007 After a successful surgery, Alla went home.

Kolya B. Sasha Ch-m 18.07.07 Kolya B. (3 years old) and Sasha Ch-m (1.8 years old) are being raised at an orphanage in the town of Kolomna. Both have Apert syndrome, which consists in a grave congenital defect of the facial skeleton and extremities. The doctors can help these children. But reconstruction of the facial skeleton requires special distractors, and a set of such distractors costs 8 to 9 thousand USD. Their purchase is not financed by the budget, and so treatment of these children is impossible without private sponsorship.
15.08.2006 The boys have gone through the first stage of their treatment: surgeries on their hands. They have been discharged from hospital, but they will surely return here many times, because their disorder requires a long multistage correction.
30.11.2006 The boys have been admitted for treatment again. This time they will be at the Department of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery. A nurse from their orphanage is taking care of them.
19.12.2006 Sasha and Kolya have left the hospital. They will arrive after the New Year holidays for follow-up treatment. All the presurgical preparations are over, but the doctors have asked to bring them for the surgery one after the other, because both need very serious medical care.
30.05.2007 The boys are at our hospital again. Both have had surgeries, but they will yet spend a long time here.
23.07.2007 Sasha has been discharged from hospital, but Kolya remains here so far.
11.08.2007 During the last week, Pasha T-v from the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery celebrated his fifth birthday. And there was a very pleasant surprise at Pasha's birthday party: little Kolya came to see the party on his own legs! It is the first time that he has been able to walk during his five years. He has undergone several surgeries, and several more are expected. But the doctors' work and the nurse's professional care have already lead to anazing results.
25.10.2007 Kolya has had a successful plastic surgery: separation of his fingers.
8.12.2007 Kolya B. has undergone the next surgery.
19.12.2007 Pasha T-v from the Ivanovo region and Kolya B. have been discharged from hospital. Both spent six months in the same ward, both underwent complicated multistage surgical treatment, both have several more surgeries to come. Their admission for follow-up treatment is planned for August or September 2008.
18.08.2008 Sasha and Kolya were admitted to our hospital for the third time, this time to the Department of Microvascular Surgery. This time they have surgery for separation of webbed fingers (syndactyly).
10.09.2008 The boys have recovered after the next operation and left the hospital. They will arrive a year later at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery.
27.08.2009 Sasha Ch. was admitted to the Department of Microvascular Surgery.
8.10.2009 Sasha was discharged after a successful finger separation operation.

Gena B. 18.07.07 Gena B. is from the town of Emmaus (Tver region). He is eight years old. He has been admitted to the Department of Coloproctology. The kid is very shy. He loves the electronic game of Tetris and never parts with it.
15.08.2007 Gena has arrived for treatment again.
6.09.2007 Gena has left the hospital.

Denis K. Valera B. 18.07.07 Two new kids from the city of Ivanovo have been admitted to the Department of Immunology. They are Denis K. (5 months old) and Valera B. (a year and a half old). Both little boys are active and sociable, smile and move a lot. They arrived two days ago and will soon have a medical examination.
26.07.07 The doctors say the neither boy has any serious immune disorder. It seems that all these kids need is good care at home and a loving family, which they haven't now.
The doctors and the entire staff of the Department of Immunology like the children very much. The nurse who takes care of them told us that the boys wanted to eat all the time during the first few days at our hospital. When they saw any kind of food, they shouted and demanded it. And when they at last had enough food, the nurse suddenly saw that Valera, the elder boy, hides the tastiest bits in a secret place. Everybody was just shocked. After all, the kids were not undernourished. Both looked all right and were not fretful. But probably it was the first time in their lives that they felt personal care, that they learned of the existence of tasty food, not just food. And the toddler somehow understood that this is not forever and it would be good to save some tasty bits in order to eat them later. Of course, we all hope that the kid is mistaken and he will yet have everything.
15.08.2006 The boys have become healthier and stronger. After discharge from hospital, they returned to their orphanage. All doctors and nurses at the Department of Immunology liked them a lot. They say that the younger boy is especially charming: extremely well developed for his age, active and merry.

Vanya V-ov 13.07.2006 Vanya V-ov, a boy of 2 years 3 months, has arrived at the Department of Urology. He is from Cherepovets (a city in the Vologda region, north of Moscow). He has charmed everybody with his long eyelashes and irresistible smile. The boy is very smart, loves company, and spends a lot of time drawing or just running about. He is so charming that one just cannot help falling in love with him. But it is clear that he does not receive enough attention and care at his orphanage.
A medical examination in the next two days will show if Vanya should receive further treatment at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital.
20.07.2006 The results of the examination showed the reason for Vanya's troubles: there was a congenital pathology that prevented normal functioning of the boy's kidney. The surgery took place on July 18. Doctor Fuat Abdullaev, a wonderful surgeon, who heads of the Department of Urology, performed it. The operation was successful, and presently Vanya is feeling fine. The doctor says that this intervention was performed in time and now Vanya is not to expect any complications. The doctors and the entire staff of the Department of Urology love Vanya and feel deeply concerned about his destiny. But, of course, the kid needs good care at home and a loving family.
3.08.2006 Vanya has fully recovered after the surgery. He goes out and plays with other kids. In this condition, he may be discharged from the hospital. But this means his return to the orphanage. Doctor Fuat Abdullaev and the entire staff of the Department of Urology address the readers of our Web site and everybody who can help the kid:
"It is vitally important for Vanya to live in a family. A state institution, even a very good one (and, by the way, Vanya's pre-school orphanage is good indeed) cannot provide the boy with the required care and medical control. On the contrary, there is no doubt that this charming kid will be quite healthy if he grows in a loving family. The doctors of the Department of Urology promise that they will provide all kinds of medical help to him whenever necessary and regularly control his condition until he turns 18."

Alesha K. 6.07.2006 Alesha K. is from the town of Komsomolsk, Ivanovo region. He is the first of the 29 children who have been recommended to have in-hospital treatment at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital after a medical examination in Ivanovo. The boy is 13 years old, but he looks as if he were nine at the most. However, he is good in school studies. He also likes drawing, reading, and playing computer games. All of us like the boy very much. He is smart and very kind, sociable and energetic, but at the same time attentive and polite. He is real gentleman and always helps the girls. He plays with the swing at the hospital playground and feeds the pigeons with potato chips... It is always interesting to talk to him and to joke with him.
Alesha told us that his mother and grandmother had died, and after that his father had refused to raise him (when the boy was telling this to us, he was on the verge of tears). Since then, Alesha has been living in an orphanage for four years. It would be so good if this merry and kind boy could find new parents.
1.08.2006 Alesha has been discharged from hospital. He was reluctant to leave his new friends in Moscow. We thank Masha, our young volunteer, who visited the boy for several hours every day in spite of her entrance exams to the Medical University, which also took place in July. But now they have been successfully passed, and Masha is already a student. And Alesha is the first patient for whom she has cared.
19.12.2006 Alesha K. has arrived for follow-up treatment. Our wonderful volunteer Masha is taking care of him again. Unfortunately, the boy arrived in poor condition. During his previous visit to the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital, our physicians worked a lot to choose the optimum anticonvulsive therapy for the child. As a result, they managed to get rid of Alesha's epileptic seizures. When the boy was discharged from hospital, he was provided with these drugs for two weeks, and then the anticonvulsants were to be received free of charge at the local pharmacies according to documents from the hospital (the total treatment course should last several years). But nobody at Alesha's orphanage cared to receive them! We have checked the situation: all the anticonvulsants are available at pharmacies in Ivanovo, and there are no problems with receiving them as prescribed free of charge. We just can't understand why the administration of the orphanage treated the boy with such negligence and indifference. Our physicians have received no normal explanations from Ivanovo. Now it will be difficult to achieve remission for the second time. And the prospects of the continuatio of this treatment is unclear. It is such a pity this has happened to the boy! His intellect is absolutely all right, and adequate treatment could enable him to have a normal life. Besides, he is such a fine and kind boy!
19.12.2007 Alesha has arrived for follow-up treatment at the Department of Psychoneurology-2. Since his last discharge from hospital, Alesha has become much more grown-up, patient and calm.
18.01.2008 Alesha has been discharged in satisfactory condition.

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