Dear Friends,
In less than two weeks, a volunteer children’s heart surgery team will arrive in Kharkiv, Ukraine. For two weeks, they will operate on young patients and save lives – lives like Misha’s.
When he was four months old, Misha was diagnosed with a VSD – a hole between the two pumping chambers of his heart. The defect caused too much blood to flow to his lungs, making his heart work harder and harder to supply blood to his tiny body. For Misha, the most common childlike activities were like running a marathon.
Over the next three years of his life, Misha suffered repeated lung infections and became increasingly frail. His devastated parents were told that his disabilities would increase, and that he would not live to see adulthood.
Last August, a free operation changed Misha’s life forever. One week after bringing him in, his parents were laughing and joking as they prepared for their long journey home. The support of donors like you made their journey one of hope rather than heartbreak.
Stories like this are why I am so committed to raise funds and awareness to help Chernobyl Children’s Project International help more children like Misha. I can’t do it alone – and I am so grateful for and moved by the help I’ve received in spreading the word.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, but some thanks are in order to the people who have joined us in this effort so far. Thanks to my Twitter followers @oksanafm who “re-tweet” messages to get the word out.
I appreciate my friends on Facebook, plus groups like GolubchikTV and Bono Street Team, who so enthusiastically made this important cause their own. (Please click here to join my Page on Facebook.)