Cerebral Palsy Therapy for Mila in Dnipro
Mila’s Story: A Life Given Hope by UCAF Donors
Mila is a 4-year-old girl from Dnipro, Ukraine who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at the age of two. Her mother, Yulia tells the story about Mila’s life and how UCAF has come along their side to help.
Hello! My name is Yulia and this is my daughter Mila. She recently she turned 4 years old. I will share our story with you. Mila was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy spastic diplegia. When I was pregnant with her my water broke on the 23rd week. I was taken to a hospital and was told to have an abortion as soon as possible, because this baby would die, I would die and so on. And this whole situation made no sense in doctors’ eyes, so they were telling me that I must have an abortion. I refused to do it. I trusted God. It was a very hard time in my life and that of our family. I was lying in bed in the hospital for two months and didn’t even stand up.
At the 27th week, there was no water at all (in my placenta), but miraculously this baby was growing, developing, and gaining weight. And all the doctors were shocked. I wound up having a C-section on the 31st week and Mila was taken to an intensive care. She spent 7 days there and after that she spent a lot of time in the perinatal center. After we were released to go home, Mila was often ill with many different infections, so we took courses of antibiotics. And after she turned one, we noticed that she had problems with her legs, so we went to see doctors in our city, but they said that she was all fine. But we knew that she wasn’t fine.
And when she was almost two, we went to see a doctor Kiev to learn of her condition. Immediately we were told that she had Cerebral Palsy and that it would be this way her whole life. “So, be ready, because you will need to work a lot, so that your child’s condition won’t get worse”, doctors said. And now every month Mila has need for rehabilitation courses, massage therapy, physical therapy, and various other exercises. This is very expensive! Treatment in clinics like Kozyavkin or Rostok Jittya – is almost 45,000 Ukrainian Hryvnias ($1080 USD) for ten days. When the rehabilitation doctor comes to us and works with her in our apartment – it’s about 10,000 Hryvnias ($240 USD). And Mila requires these treatments every month.
Therapists also recommend swimming lessons with a coach which relaxes her nervous system very well and helps her physical development. We really want to be visiting a special preschool. Mila wants to be around other children, but because she has problems with her legs, she is not permitted to attend regular preschool. But she really wants to communicate with children – there are different lessons with teachers, they have art classes, and she is becoming socialized. This child is very special and unfortunately special children need constant special care. Rehabilitation doctors also recommend home exercises which we are doing. But to help her set her posture right, she also needs a running track, a climbing frame, and orthopedic mats.
Mila and I are very thankful to everyone who has and will help us. And we are very grateful to all who help these special children like Mila because an average family is just not able to pay and provide for their needs. And especially now in Ukraine with this ongoing war which negatively impacts every family. So, we thank every UCAF donor who made it possible for us to receive some physical and massage therapy in 2023, but we still need much more. May the Lord bless each one of you and give you 100 times more for your help. And may God bless your families and your children.
If you would like to support Mila’s ongoing care and ensure that she receives the follow-up treatment she needs on a monthly basis, please consider making a tax-deductible donation via the DONATE NOW button.
