I already have an entire collection of these bags and totes at home. Blue and green, large and small insulated bags. Insulated bags, with pictures of penguins throwing snowballs on them. These bags flow to Moscow from all over Russia. And there, someone known as "a dependable person" takes them and brings them to us. Brings them to us across the miles and country borders, the bags with life inside...the bags with the medication called Pulmozyme.

And afterwards, the parents of the children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis come to Zaporozhzhye. And, clutching the coveted packages, hastily and haltingly thank us, those who sent the medication, and 'just everyone'. They thank us while glancing at the clock. Because they have to hurry. They have to put the priceless packages in the insulated bag, cover it with ice packs and go home. And there's a child waiting at home. A child whose lungs are damaged by recurrent infections from mucus they can't cough up. And whose only chance to continue living and breathing is to use the Pulmozyme inhaler every day, to make the mucus less tenacious. And then one can cough it up, and the infections won't get as severe. And one can breathe.

It's been almost 18 months since several of the girls in our area with cystic fibrosis have been alive thanks to Pulmozyme from Russia. The first 9 months, our Russian colleagues were our only hope, because the medication was not even supplied to the Ukrainian pharmacies. Now it does, but it costs 2,045 hryvnyas (247 US dollars) for one package. For 6 vials in the package. For 6 days of being able to breathe. It's an unaffordable sum for many Ukrainian families. And even for foundations. Therefore, these bags which are sent along from Moscow...it is only these bags which give the children we support the chance to continue living. To continue breathing.

There are many children with cystic fibrosis throughout Ukraine. Some of them would die very quickly without Pulmozyme. Therefore, we made a joint decision to keep some amount of the medication in reserve for the four most seriously ill children of the Zaporozhzhye region, and to give the rest to the program "Oxygen.ua" of the "Open Palms" foundation, which supports seriously ill children with cystic fibrosis throughout Ukraine. We also shared another cystic fibrosis medication, the pancreatic enzyme 'Kreon' with this foundation. Kreon was also sent to us from Moscow.

We thank our Russian colleagues for bags with life inside. Every time I look at the pile of insulated bags and totes in our house, I think about how many times and how many people took the time to help the children our foundation supports. It is such an amazingly wonderful thing! Thank you, friends! Thanks a lot to everyone!!!