Arina’s heart stopped on January 2nd…We will always remember you, girl!
Arina’s mother looked on the verge of despair when she appealed to our charity foundation for help. She told us about the problems and obstacles her family has to overcome every day. No-one would expect a sportswoman and a fit and healthy man to have a baby with such a serious genetic disorder, and like other families in this situation Arina’s parents could not understand or accept the diagnosis. Their first thoughts were “It can’t be”, “This must be a mistake”, “This isn’t happening to us”. But after accepting the inevitable, they began their fight to give their daughter as pain-free and as full a life as possible. Fifteen-year old Arina lives each day of her challenging life to the full. She knows the true value of life. Like many children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis she is very creative. Arina is brilliant at knitting. She enjoys making clothes for herself, her mother, and brother Ivan; napkins and lampshades, handicrafts and toys for exhibitions. Due to her health problems she has plenty of free time. She goes to a normal school, although she can’t attend regularly. When she has to stay at home, she misses her classmates a lot and tries to keep up with her schoolwork so that she won’t fall behind.
What makes Arina’s situation worse is that her cystic fibrosis has led to her developing problems with her pancreas. It is getting more and more difficult for her to fight her illness. There are very few drugs her body still responds to. Some foreign medicines have proved to be the most effective but they are not licensed in Ukraine. Elena, Arina’s mother, has moved heaven and earth to secure treatment for her daughter, and she brought us a huge pile of letters and documents to prove it.
Arina’s parents deserve huge respect for their strength, courage and persistence. Every day they have to fight against the Ukrainian health care system. The family has pleaded for help so many times, only to be met with the indifferent silence of the local authorities.
Please help the Lukashov family. No-one can overcome such huge problems alone, and the Lukashovs will be deeply grateful. Anything you can send will be a vital contribution to Arina’s treatment. Together we can prolong Arina’s life, relieve her pain and suffering and give her a chance to study and enjoy her life.
Arina’s reality is cruel without medicine: asthmatic fits with less and less oxygen in her lungs and titanic efforts to gasp for breath. Support the girl’s dream of a long happy life, please!
The Lukashov family lives in the city of Zaporizhzhia.
The mobile phone number of Arina’s mother – Elena: +380 66 372 34 84
