Update: Today Andrey and Anna Ostapenko announced that Polina’s operation is scheduled on Jan. 2nd
Seven-month-old Polina Ostapenko of Zaporozhye no longer has the strength to do much more than sleep in her small cradle, her jaundiced face on a white pillow.
But there is hope for the baby with a rare and deadly liver condition. Her parents’ plea for help has been answered. Thanks to generous donations from many people, the family has raised almost 106,000 euros to pay for a needed liver transplant for Polina.
The money will go for the surgey in Belgium’s Saint Luc Hospital and three months of after-care expenses in the European Union country.
Andrey, Anna and Polina Ostapenko
Ostapenko’s working parents, engineer Andrey and clerk Anna, could not have raised this sum without help.
“We have good surgeons in Ukraine’s Shalimova Hospital, but they don’t have after-transplantation treatment, which is critical for such a small baby,” says the infant’s 27-year-old mother Anna Ostapenko. “We learned that in Belgium, Polina will receive three months of after-care and a follow-up for the rest of her life. But the problem was we had no money to save her.”
In early November, receiving a confirmation of Polina’s diagnosis, Andrey and Anna Ostapenko contacted journalists and organized a social media group with Polina’s pictures and document scans. They asked friends to spread the word. They sent letters to local authorities. Within a month, more than 100,000 euros were collected.
“You won’t believe but it came from common Ukrainians. People were sending small amounts but regularly. The smallest sum was about 5 hryvnia, but thanks to this we’re almost there,” Anna Ostapenko said. But she added, the “authorities never helped.”
The biggest help from Zaporozhye politicians, a donation of Hr 5,000, came from one of Zaporozhye’s richest businessmen, Vladimir Katzev, who is the head of the regional Party of Regions and a vice head of the Zaporozhye City Administration.
Small business owners also donated similar amounts.
Volunteers helped with printing fliers and students organized charity boxes in all major city supermarkets. An online auction was started to sell hand-made jewelry, cloth and paintings.
On Nov. 28, the Tartak band and local singers gave a charity concert in Zaporozhye and collected almost Hr 90,000 from ticket sales and charity boxes.
Charity concert in Zaporozhye
Small city cafes added new lines to their menus, offering a special Polina’s cocktail meant to raise money for her operation.
At the same time, Ukrainians from all over sent in sums of Hr 20, 40 and 200 to special bank accounts from all parts of Ukraine.
However, the family still could use some money. While they have requested a surgery date of Jan. 9, the hospital hasn’t confirmed “because we haven’t paid the bill yet. There is still some money to collect.”
But she is now positive they’ll have enough in time and that soon their two-tooth girl, Polina, will be flying to Belgium and get a good shot at being able to flash happy smiles for years to come.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Raskevich can be reached at [email protected]
