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31.12.2004 Dear friends, In these festive days, we want to thank you for everything that you do for the patients of our hospital. Your help is indeed priceless! The children will enter the New Year and see the light of the Christmas star. Without you, without your support some of them wouldn't live to this moment. The children will yet celebrate New Year and Christmas many and many times, all their lives, which, as we hope, will be long and happy. The lives that they have received again as a present from you. On the New Year Eve, the decorated trees will shine and the merry children's laugh will sound in dozens of homes that were only recently full of anguish, fear, sometimes even despair. And the mothers, thinking over and over about all events of the last year, will thank God again and again. And this means that they will thank you, the people by whose hands God creates the Good in our world.
30.12.2004 Dear friends, Happy New Year! What can we wish you for the forthcoming year besides good health and happiness? So good health and happiness are just what we wish you. We are grateful to everybody who was together with us throughout this year. Who gave love to the children. Who supported the girls and boys, their parents and doctors. We thank them again and again. We will yet sum up the results of the past year, and now we just hope that you will have merry holidays!
28.12.2004 The preparations for the New Year celebrations will soon be over. Thanks to lots of people, representatives of organizations and private persons who have helped, there will be enough New Year presents for everybody. It is the third day when members of the Help Group at the Hospital Church of the Protection of Holy Virgin fill bags with gift sets for our little patients. This work is far from simple and very laborious. Each child will receive his or her personal present (and all in all there are about eight hundred children at the hospital). For this purpose, all patients of each department are listed and the age of every patient is indicated. One must also check all children with names that can be both male and female (such as Sasha or Zhenya) or with names that sound strange for Russians, lest a boy should receive a girl's present or vice versa. Continued... 27.12.2004 Nadya Kol'tsova had an operation on her intestines on December 20. The girl is still at the resuscitation ward. The doctors planned to interrupt granulocyte transfusions and then to resume them as soon as Nadya can do without artificial pulmonary ventilation. Unfortunately, it is still difficult for her to breathe by herself, so she does not need granulocyte transfusions so far, but donor platelets are necessary every day.  In December, in the weeks just before Christmas, people from the German Embassy visited the hospital church together with their families and children. Two weeks ago, our German friends brought presents for our children and a beautiful natural fir-tree in a pot, which now decorates our church. After the end of the church service, an impromptu concert was arranged. Our guests, including the military attache, played the guitar and sang traditional German Christmas songs and carols. Our Katya Gorbunova had learned these songs when receiving treatment in Germany two years ago, and now she sang together with our guests. Everybody felt comfortable, warm and happy in this wonderful atmosphere.Last Saturday, which was Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, our German friends visited the church again. Barbara von Freitag, spouse of the German Consul in Moscow, said a few words to visitors of our Web site about the origin of our friendship, "I, Barbara, and my two sisters, Bettina and Stefanie, are now at the hospital church. Today is Christmas of 2004. All the three of us are from Munich. Priest Alexander Men made a speech there at a theological conference in 1990. Our father started talking to him. (Father had always been interested in Russia and other Eastern countries.) The conversation continued, and at the end Alexander Men said, "Please remember that there is a hospital in Moscow and children are very ill there." My sister Stefanie was the first to visit this hospital in 1992 as a member of the Maltese Cross charity service. She instantly met Lina Saltykova, head of the Alexander Men Help Group, and started helping at the Kidney Transplantation Department. Then I arrived: my husband was made a consul at the Embassy. At that time, we spent two years here and participated in the help. Twelve years have passed, and now we are sitting at the church, which was lacking at that time... and now it is the heart of the hospital." 24.12.2004 We invite everybody to the traditional pre-New Year exhibition of RCCH children's drawings at the State Library of Foreign Literature (ul. Nikolo-Yamskaya 1, Moscow). The exhibition was opened on December 23 and will last till January 23. Entrance is free. In the Not only illnesses part of our site, we place a small photo report about its opening. 23.12.2004 From November 20 to December 15, medicines for a total of 118,218.43 roubles (ca. 4200 USD) were bought for the departments of General Hematology, Marrow Transplantation, Immunology, and Oncohematology. The necessary medical consumables for a total of 189,396.49 roubles (ca. 6750 USD) have been paid for. 22.12.2004 From December 12 to 20, the 2nd "Castle of Hope" chess tournament took place at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital. It was a great deal more serious than the previous one. The level of each player could be estimated, and the best players were at the level of the 4th grade in chess. The main prize at the tournament was a chessboard with the autograph of Anatoli Karpov, ex-world champion in chess. The umpire was Mikhail Molchanov, international umpire, President of the Chess Federation of the Eastern Administrative district of Moscow. 22.12.04 Today young actors of the famous Satiricon theater (Moscow) visited the RCCH patients. They brought a New Year present to the children: the "Well done, Pushkin!" performance, based on three tales by Alexander Pushkin: of the Dead Princess and Seven Knights, of Czar Saltan, and of the Gold Cockerel. This marvellous performance, although very "easy to carry" (because neither costumes nor decor are used), is still extremely colorful: full of energy and cheerfulness, side-splitting jokes, clownery, singing and dancing. The young men and women in colored T-shirts formed simply incredible plastic compositions and mise en scenes. The conference hall of the hospital constantly exploded with applause and bursts of child laughter. We are heartily grateful to Konstantin Raikin, chief director of the Satiricon theater, who immediately responded to our invitation and organized this visiting performance, giving the children a completely enchanting show in the merry days just before the New Year.
Visiting the fire brigade in Trento 
Photo by Davide Pivetti, L'ADIGE, December 11, 2004. Meeting children from the Villa Lagarina School (Trento) 
Photo by Fulvio FIORINI and Piero CAVAGNA Information about the visit of the Beslan children to Italy has presently appeared in our mass media as well. For some publications (in Russian), see http://www.rambler.ru/db/news/msg.html?mid=5402997 and http://www.rambler.ru/db/news/msg.html?s=260005083&mid=5403956. 16.12.2004 Zhenya Lezhnin does not need granulocytes transfusions any more! The last transfusion took place on Saturday, December 4. His own granulocytes have not yet appeared, but he can already do without donor ones. The boy has got no fever or nausea. For the first time in many months, Zhenya was allowed to leave his ward and go to the passage of the Department of General Hematology. Granulocyte transfusions in Zhenya's case started on October 19 and continued for a month and a half. During this time, 17 donors gave their blood to Zhenya. They were of much help! We thank them very much. Unfortunately, the situation with Nadya Kol'tsova is not so good at all. In spite of granulocyte transfusions and latest medicines, Nadya's condition is very grave. Besides, she has got no granulocyte donors now. The last transfusion was on Tuesday, December 14. All in all, this girl has had 25 transfusions, and many donors gave their blood twice. But now there is nobody to help. We are appealing to all people with blood group AB(-). 15.12.2004 The second group of Beslan children accompanied by their parents was sent to the Italian city of Trento for rest and rehabilitation. Now there are 60 visitors. 01.12.2004 New Year and Christmas are approaching. About 800 children will have to meet the New Year at hospital. Santa Claus will visit each department, and no child should stay without a present. Good for the children are not only soft toys (although a present is not a real present without them) but also Lego and other educational construction sets, embroidery and beadwork kits, and other interesting and pretty games and occupations that can amuse the children during their long stay at hospital. And maybe the most convenient thing for you would be to transfer a certain sum of money with a note "For New Year presents."  30.11.2004 In the beginning of last week, a group of patients from Beslan who had been treated at the RCCH came to Italy for rest and rehabilitation. The children are accompanied by their parents and relatives.They received personal invitations from Lorenzo Dellai, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, and the Council of this Italian province will pay for all the expenditures. The children will be back in the beginning of the next year, on January 10, 2005. Aiutateci a salvare i bambini, an Italian charity association headed by Ennio Bordato, organized this journey. This association has been cooperating with our charity foundation for several years, providing great help in purchasing medicines and equipment for hematological departments of the RCCH. During the days of the tragic events in the Beslan school, Ennio Bordato was in Moscow with a group of TV reporters from the Trento province, making a film about our cooperation at the RCCH. When patients injured in the terrorist act began arriving at the hospital, Ennio informed the president of the province, and the Council of the Trento province decided to invite the children for rehabilitation after their treatment at the RCCH is over. It was the first time that we had to prepare documents for sending as many as 39 children abroad at once; earlier, there were only separate occasions. We are whole-heartedly grateful to the Italian Consulate in Moscow, which greatly simplified and expedited the preparation of all the documents in this extraordinary situation, considering the problems related to sending papers from Osetia to Moscow and the people's state.  The tickets to Milan were bought for the flight that was to depart from the Sheremetevo-2 airport on Monday, November 22, at 7 a.m. However, a difficulty emerged at the last moment: heavy snowall began in Moscow, and the airports were closed. A plane with some of the children, who had left Osetia on Saturday, landed in St.Petersburg, and it was sheer miracle that the children were still in time for the Milan flight. The other group of children could leave for Moscow only on the eve of Monday and came to the Domodedovo airport only on 8 a.m.We are grateful to managers of the Sheremetevo-2 airport, in particular to Valeri Vladimirovich Serykh and Oleg Fedorovich Zhukov, who provided an airplane for this second group of children so that they could leave the next day. And we are especially grateful to the managing bodies of the Aeroflot Company, including its Transit Department, and personally to administrator Yulia Zhukova. For that day, they provided, free-of-charge, comfortable rooms for the Beslan families at the hotel of the Sheremetevo-2 airport, as well as free-of-charge (and very tasty!) food at the hotel restaurant, a bus, and luggage transportation. At the Milan airport, Ennio Bordato met both groups. A special bus took the children to Trento. They were given lodgement in a special guesthouse at the territory of the monastery, surrounded by a beautiful park and situated near the center of the city, so that the children could easily go to the swimming pool or gyms. After the children arrived, doctors of the city hospital examined them and prescribed the necessary treatment. Then psychologists consulted them. Most children still feel fear and anxiety. They recall the September events again and again. One of the senior girls has a dream almost every night: she sees her friends who sat at her side on the floor of the school gym and were killed in front of her eyes... 29.11.2004 From October 1 to November 20, medicines worth a total of 448,397.60 roubles were bought for the Departments of General Hematology, Medical Genetics, Marrow Transplantation, Immunology, and Oncohematology. Also, a total of 317,173.25 roubles was paid for performing the necessary tests. 17.11.2004 Kolya Larichev came to the hospital to have his next course of supportive therapy. He said a few words for the readers of our Web site: "I am very grateful to everybody who helped me! I feel all right. The doctors say that everything is normal, just as should be. I was admitted to the Vladikavkaz Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, with a major in industrial electronics, i.e., computers. So far I study by correspondence. The supportive treatment will last up to September 2005. I must come to Moscow for two weeks once in 1.5 months four times; and then four times more with an interval of three months. Then I'll have control examinations only twice a year." Kolya was born in Beslan. During the September events, he was just having his regular course of supportive therapy in Moscow. After coming home, Kolya made a short and heart-wrenching film entitled "September 1. Dedicated to all who suffered or died in the Beslan school seizure." Kolya brought the tape to us, and we place his film here, on our site. 16.11.2004 Today only one patient injured in Beslan is still under treatment at the RCCH. We are in constant contact with the families of the discharged children. For example, preparation of documents necessary to send the children for rest and rehabilitation will soon be completed (the first group will leave at the beginning of the next week). 25.10.2004 Children injured in the Beslan terrorist act are recovering well. Eight patients from Beslan are still remaining at the RCCH, and two of them will be discharged from hospital in the beginning of the next week. They are recovering not only physically but psychologically as well. We do not lose contact with children who have left the hospital, and we hope to participate in their further rehabilitation. Unfortunately, Ira Perepelitsyna cannot go through the necessary treatment course now because of family problems. We stop raising funds for her for the time being. However, as soon as the treatment becomes possible, we'll resume the fundraising. 20.10.2004 We have received a message from Vladik Kiryukhin's mother. He has been at home since March 2004, and so far he is OK. You can read this message on Vladik's page. 15.10.2004 We asked Dmitri V. Litvinov, the head of the Oncohematology Department, about three of his patients whom our Charity Foundation and visitors of this site are trying of help. This is what the doctor told us: "  Ekaterina Sorokina, suffering from acute myeloid leukemia, is presently receiving her next block of chemotherapy. A good remission was achieved in due time, and no serious complications are observed now. However, the girl is also receiving antibacterial therapy, because there was a febrile episode (temperature rise) prior to the chemotherapy. But now she has already recovered from it, and there are no such problems. As to Petimat Umarova, her peripheral stem cells will soon be taken, because, unfortunately, a visualized residual tumor remains after three blocks of chemotherapy. We don't yet know if it is a live tumor or just residual changes in the form of scars and sclerosis, and the protocol requires that we should receive more detailed information about it. Nevertheless, again according to the protocol, she will give her peripheral stem cells in the nearest few days. After that, she will receive her next block of chemotherapy and then undergo an operation to check if the tumor is live or not. If there is a live tumor, there will be several additional blocks of chemotherapy and then marrow autotransplantation. If there is no live tumor, the girl will receive all the chemotherapy according to the protocol, and after that the chemotherapy will be completed. For Alina Faizullina, we took her peripheral stem cells last week. Today, we are planning to start conditioning before the first autotransplantation: high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell support. So far the progress is good: the tumor has decreased a great deal, and the girl feels more or less all right. She had no problems concerning infections or other complications.It became possible to achieve such results in these three patients thanks to the financial help provided by the Charity Foundation, because we were short of medicines at certain stages of the treatment and these medicines (including Leucovorin, Diflucan, Valtrex, Zovirax, and some others) were bought for the money raised by the Foundation. The medicines were used for treating these children and helped them cope with the complications and, accordingly, reach good results. Presently we are going to take peripheral stem cells and freeze them at the repository of the Oncocenter for Petimat Umarova. Unfortunately, we must pay for this service. We must also pay for freezing and accumulation of stem cells for Alina Faizulina." 14.10.2004 On October 10, a team chess tournament "Castle of Hope" was help at the RCCH Department of General Hematology. The tournament was the first event organized by the chess club that has been existing at the Department of General Hematology since May 2004. It was formed by Yulia Dubitskaya, a volunteer of the donor group, whose members help in finding donors for the children's treatment and just make friends with our patients. You can learn more about this "chess festival" in the "Not only illnesses" part of our site. 08.10.2004 From September 10 to 30, the following medicines were bought: 30 packs of Leucovorin and 100 packs of Rubomycin (total cost 36,052.50 roubles) were bought for children from the Department of Oncohematology and Polychemotherapy. 6 packs of Zovirax (4610.76 roubles) and 20 packs of Valtrex (15,298.80 roubles) were bought for children from the Department of General Hematology. 2 packs of Miacalcic and 4 packs of Ursofalk (7282.00 roubles) were bought for children from the Department of Marrow Transplantation.  06.10.2004 The first four children among those injured during the terrorist act in Beslan have been discharged from the RCCH. They are Anna Tsalaeva, b. 1994; Valeria Tsgoeva, b. 2000; Kristina Bikuzarova, b. 1994; and Zarina Bugulova, b. 1989. When saying good-bye to us, the children and their parents told us that they were leaving the hospital with a feeling of immense gratitude for the warmth, care, and real help that they had found here. Zarina Bugulova (the girl who immediately started drawing and mastering the computer with her left hand, because her right hand could not move after the wound) presented this painting to us, so that we would remember her and her native land. 39 children from Osetia are still staying at the hospital. 04.10.2004 We have opened a new page on our site. It concerns young patients of the RCCH who have been left without parental care. Now you can get acquainted with these children and learn about their needs. 03.10.2004 Patients from Beslan gradually recover. Before October 10, several children will be discharged from hospital. Vika Guseinova is feeling better; she has at last been transferred from the resuscitation ward to the Department of Neurosurgery. On October 1, Khrusha and Stepashka (little piglet and bunny, dolls from the children's favorite TV show) personally came to visit the RCCH patients. Good friends of our hospital helped them talk to the children. They were Tatiana Chernyaeva and Galina Marchenko, stars of Russian children's classical TV shows. The dolls entered every ward that hosted the Beslan children, met the children, talked about everything, and then made performances in every department for all its patients. List of children who were admitted to the RCCH on September 22, 2004 DEPARTMENT OF TRAUMATOLOGY 1. Georgi K. Ilyin, 7 y.o. Mine blast injury. Shrapnel wound of the patellar region on the left. Kidney hypoplasia. 1st degree traumatic shock. 2. Isolda O. Kokaeva, 9 y.o. Mine blast trauma. Bullet wound of the shoulder on the left. Shrapnel wound and foreign body in the upper third of the thigh. 3. Khetag Ch. Kusaev, 13 y.o. Mine blast injury. Foreign body in the femoral bone of the left leg. Barotrauma. Mother is at the Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedy; the boy is at the RCCH with his father. 4. Lyana Ch. Kusaeva, 11 y.o. Mine blast injury. Shrapnel wounds of the upper and lower extremities. Foreign body in the right hand. Marginal fracture of a metacarpal bone of the right hand. Mother is at the Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedy; the girl is at the RCCH with her father. 5. Artur R. Muzaev, 8 y.o. Mine blast injury. Shrapnel wound in the region of the coracoid process of the left scapula. Mother missing; the boy is at hospital with his father. 6. Sergei S. Naniev, 16 y.o. Mine blast injury. Shrapnel wound of the right knee joint. Posttraumatic stress disorder. 7. Aslan R. Persaev, 15 y.o. Mine blast injury. Bullet and shrapnel wound of the right shin, bilateral dry perforation of the ear-drum, partial hearing loss. 8. Soslan R. Persaev, 10 y.o. Mine blast injury. Multiple shrapnel wounds of the trunk, head, thorax, pelvis, and back. 9. Oganez A. Simonyan, 11 y.o. Mine blast injury. Penetrating bullet wound of the left sholder. Mother and sister are at a hospital in Rostov; father is with them. The child is staying at RCCH with his aunt. 10. Albert A. Tokov, 10 y.o. Mine blast injury. Shrapnel and bullet wound of the right knee joint. Penetrating wound of the lumbar region. 11. Mairbek Ya. Tseboev, 9 y.o. Mine blast injury. Bullet wound of the left hand. Fracture of the 4th metacarpal bone on the left. 1st degree traumatic shock. 12. Georgi K. Koniev, 4 y.o. Mine blast injury. Open fracture of the bones of the left forearm. Avulsion of terminal phalanxes of the left hand. Shrapnel wounds of the thorax and left hand. Parents were killed in the terrorist act; the boy is at hospital with his aunt. DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSURGERY 13. Fatima A. Kusova, 14 y.o. Mine blast injury. Shrapnel wound of the occipital region, foreign body. Perforative otitis. Vasomotor rhinitis. Nasal septum deviation. Younger sister dead; the girl is at hospital with her mother. 14. Gleb O. Tatonov, 3.5 y.o. Mine blast trauma. Multiple shrapnel and bullet wounds of the head, face, trunk, and extremities. Foreign body in the soft tissues of the neck. Occipital craniocerebral injury. Brain concussion. Bilateral posttraumatic perforated otitis. Posttraumatic stress disorder. DEPARTMENT OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY 15. Elvira E. Plieva, 8 y.o. Mine blast trauma. Shrapnel wound with a foreign body in the lower wall of the frontal sinus. 16. Mairbek B. Varziev, 8 y.o. Mine blast trauma. 1st and 2nd degree burns of the breast and abdomen. Posttraumatic stress reaction. Mother was killed in the terrorist act; father with a child of 1.3 years is at home. The boy is at hospital with his uncle. 23.09.2004 Sixteen more children who had been injured during the terrorist act in Beslan came to the RCCH on September 22. Most children who arrived on September 10 feel much better. Some of them will soon be discharged from hospital. One child is still in the resuscitation ward. From August 2 to 8, 2004, an exhibition entitled "The World As Seen by a Gravely ill Child" took place in Nizhni Novgorod within the framework of the 2nd Orthodox Exhibition and Fair "Nizhni Novgorod, the Land of St. Seraphim of Sarov." The works of RCCH patients were presented at this exhibition. This exhibition is described in the "Not only illnesses" part of this site. 17.09.2004 The RCCH Help Group, the Charity Commission of Moscow Patriarchate headed by Rev. Arkadi Shatov, and the Moscow Ossetian diaspora are continuing their coordinated mission aimed at helping the RCCH patients who were injured during the terrorist act in Beslan. On September 15, there was a large charity action of the Help Group, supported by the hospital administration. It was coordinated by Armen Popov, a long-time friend of our hospital. The funds were raised by the staff of the Proma-Interactive internet providing company, the Slavyanski Dvor real estate agency, and the Russian representative office of Parson's Shoes company. The sports presents were provided by the Sportmaster trading network. It took several days to prepare for this event. As soon as the children from Ossetia arrived at the RCCH, members of the Help Group visited each child, asked his or her relatives about their daily needs, and collected information about the necessary footwear and clothing: not only the size but also the desired look. But first of all, when getting acquainted with the children and parents, we (as psychologists advised) asked them about the children's former dreams, hobbies, and wishes. In fact, when we directly asked children what they would want to receive as a present, many of them answered, "Nothing." After the tragedy, the children were in a state of deep apathy. Time had as if stopped for them there, in the gym of the Beslan school. It seemed that they had lost all ties to their former selves and expected no future. To recall one's dream, to think about it once more means to wind the clock again. The action started in the morning, when Dmitri Alenichev, a famous Russian football player, appeared in the RCCH passage, to the delight of all nearby boys. He was going to visit Alan Kusaev, a 14-year-old Ossetian boy, who is crazy about football. The boy is presently at the Department of Traumatology; he has got a penetrating wound of the thorax and a severe head trauma. And still, Alan was simply enraptured when he saw Alenichev. The boy became unrecognizable: during his first days in Moscow, Alan's psychological condition was nearly the worst, he tried to avoid any contact. The football player brought a present for Alan: a real football uniform and a ball with a few kind words written on it. They immediately posed for a photograph together. "Give it to your friends afterwards," said Dmitry, tenderly putting his arm on the bandaged boy's shoulder. We want to mention that Dmitri Alenichev responded to our plea to visit the wounded boy as soon as he heard it. Then the event began. It took place in all departments that hosted patients from Ossetia. At first, the children were greeted by Karlsson from Astrid Lindgren's fairy tale - to be exact, from a performance by the Theater of Satire (actor Alexander Simonets). He taught all children how to misbehave, play tricks, and eat jam right from a jar. And afterwards each child received the very present that he or she had dreamed about. For some of them, the most desired present was a large doll in the form of a newborn baby, which needs care just as a real newborn child; for some, it was a Barbie doll with a little house; for some, a radio-controlled car model, or a CD player, or roller skates. None of the children had asked for presents or expected them. The children or their relatives had just mentioned their dreams and wishes when speaking to us. And now each child indeed held his or her long-wished present in hands. Three older children were given computers. One of them was Murad Kalmanov, already mentioned on this page. Nobody could stay indifferent to the life story of this courageous orphan boy. One of our benefactors, who wished to stay anonymous, not only bought a notebook computer for Murad but also offered further help to him, including financing of his education. Georgi Farniev, who is ten, dreams of extreme sports. Now a real multispeed mountainbike is standing in his ward. Georgi's leg was broken by shrapnel, and now it is covered with plaster from foot to hip. It must surely heal well, the doctors will take care of this, and the bike will encourage the boy with the enticing lustre of its new enamel. Alya Fadeeva is a 12-year-old girl with shrapnel wounds of shins. She had dreamed of walking in elegant white high boots. When she opened a box and saw boots of soft snow-white leather, with fashionable small heels, she could not believe her eyes and only asked, "Is this for me? Is this true?" That day, everybody who saw these children felt that they were really becoming their former selves, becoming just children. It was the first day after the disaster when they felt real joy. Afterwards the children were provided with the necessary clothes and footwear (as we have already told, each family was individually given exactly what was needed). Members of the Charity Commission of Moscow Patriarchate also brought TV sets and video tape recorders for all the wards where they were still lacking. Now all children from Beslan can use them. Then a conjurer came and gave a performance for all children of each department. And presents (maybe small ones) were given to all children without exception, so that nobody would be offended. It is very frightening that the parents of our "usual" patients sometimes feel something like envy toward children who are victims of the Beslan tragedy. This feeling is cruel and absurd (when you say, "Just imagine your children there!", they become sober again), but at the same time it can seem justified: "These children receive so much attention, but are our children any worse?" Of course, nobody is better or worse, and hospital life does not bring much joy to anybody. Therefore, everybody must have small holidays and festivities. The only difference is that such festivities are not just a distraction for these children from Ossetia but a necessary component of their treatment and rehabilitation. On September 16, participants of the Fabric of Stars TV show came to visit the children. "Professor" Luka Lukich also came to the hospital again. The children sat at the computer and had drawing lessons with our artists. Volodya Shishkarev came with his synthesizer and sang songs. The treatment goes on as it should. There are operations every day: the doctors remove bullets, shrapnel fragments, and metallic "filling" of explosive devices. The parents leave them as a kind of keepsakes. Sometimes a handful of iron is taken out of a child. Zamira Mamsurova is feeling better; she had been transferred from the resuscitation ward to another department. 14.09.2004 Our teachers of drawing and the head of the computer class again taught the Beslan children today. Many of the kids were indeed interested in drawing. Before our eyes, a girl whose right arm had been wounded managed to draw using her left hand. Now she wants to cope with a computer, also with her left hand. The highlight of today's program was a "professor's round," when a huge doll doctor called Luka Lukich visited the departments of the hospital. This side-splitting and kind professor is a well-proven "antidepressant medicine." Nobody stayed indifferent, and there were smiles on the children's faces long after he had left. A girl and a boy came to the hospital church in the afternoon. The boy stood there for a long time, looking at the icons that hung high above, right under the ceiling. This church occupies the former conference hall, and some ceiling tiles have already fallen out, leaving dark holes. The boy noticed them and asked, "Was somebody shooting here, too?.." Kristina, the ten-year-old girl, asked us to give her a candle and lit it in memory of her friends. They are dead. Kristina's mother told us that yesterday they watched an animated film about an ogre. When the ogre wanted to eat children, the girl cried, "Do they eat children here, too?" She could not look at the screen. Murad Kalmanov, a 16-year-old boy, is now at the Department of Abdominal Surgery. When he saw a man trying to shoot at other children, he protected two little kids with his body, and then, already wounded, managed (together with the school sports instructor) to take a gun from a terrorist. The boy's aunt is taking care of him at the hospital: his mother died last spring; his father, several years ago. They say that they don't need help and have got all they need. Murad only asked us to bring him books about special forces, their training and service. Joining the special forces is his dream. Several children are to be operated on Tuesday. Pieces of shrapnel and foreign bodies must be removed. And another important piece of information. During all these days, a lot of visitors want to see the children from Beslan. This is very tiresome for the children and their relatives. The number of visits must be limited. Therefore, since Monday, the head physician has forbidden all visits without preliminary agreement.
Help to our children is coming from everywhere. Ossetins living in Moscow have organized daily supply of food, fresh fruit, and juices to the hospital - not only for "their" children but for all patients of the department. The Charity Commission of Moscow Patriarchate immediately responded to our plea: TV sets and video tape recorders have appeared in almost all wards where Beslan children are staying. Soon the children will also be given warm clothes: indeed, their treatment will last long, and cold autumn is approaching. Now we are busy providing footwear to the children: most have got neither warm boots for going out nor even home slippers. They got here on stretchers, but now many of them could walk... if there was anything to put on their feet. And, of course, presents and toys. When a child suddenly shares his or her touching and almost impossible dream with you - a Barbie doll, a radio-controlled toy car, a CD player, a gamepad - you understand that now it is not the usual childish "I want!" This is the beginning of a child's return to normal life, to his or her former self. (And you, being able to fulfil these dreams so easily, feel as if you were a bit of a magician.) Our computer specialists regularly consult the children, but the demand is much more than they can do. As the children's condition improves, we will need the help of people who can visit the children with their own notebook computers. As soon as such help becomes necessary, we will place the necessary announcement on this web site. On Saturday, many parents came to the hospital church and participated in the Divine Liturgy. Then the priest visited all children in their departments, and more than half of them took communion. Eight children who had survived after the Beslan tragedy were baptized that day. The psychological condition of most children has improved. Many have become notably more lively when video tape recorders appeared in wards: those good old cartoons! Please bring video tapes: animated and children films, family movies, comedies. Audio tapes are also necessary: children's songs, fairy tales, rhymes, stories for the little ones; favorite music for the older children. We were glad to see the children's and parents' general attitude. They are very friendly and open-hearted. They are not bitter, not overcome by their grief. The parents willingly communicate with other people, sincerely thank for any help and compassion, for not leaving them alone. We can often hear their embarrassed words, "Oh, please, we don't need anything, just thank you for being here!" One of the mothers said these astonishing words, "Right after the events, I had only one thought: to leave this country and go somewhere. But now I feel: no, this is our country!" Below is the list of children who were wounded during the terrorist act in Beslan and are now under treatment at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital. Department of Traumatology: Alan Kusaev, born December 25, 1989. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, penetrating shrapnel injury of the thorax on the left. Hemothorax on the left. Shrapnel injury of the head. Zelim Mamsurov, born March 4, 1993. Ds.: Mine blast trauma. Bullet wounds in the left shoulder and suprapubic region, in the iliac wing. Aslan Dzugaev, born February 3, 1990. Ds.: Mine blast trauma. Penetrating bullet wound in the right half of the thorax. Hemothorax on the right. 2nd degree shock. Elina Khamitsaeva, born February 11, 1994. Ds.: Mine blast trauma. Penetrating shrapnel injury of the thorax on the left. Hemothorax. Bullet wound of the right shoulder. Alan Kostuev, born September 10, 1995. Ds.: Mine blast trauma. Penetrating bullet wound of the thorax on the right. Foreign body in the right lung. David Bikoshvili, born February 26, 1995. Ds.: Mine blast trauma. Bullet wound of the suprabrachial region with penetration to the pleural cavity. Hemothorax on the right. Alan Kusov, born June 2, 1993. Ds.: Mine blast trauma. Penetrating shrapnel injury of the thorax on the right. Anna Tsalueva, 10 y.o. Valeria Tsgoeva, 4 y.o. Albert Dashiev, 12 y.o. Kristina Uvarova, 12 y.o. Department of Thoracic Surgery: Robert Balikoev, born October 29, 1992. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, penetrating shrapnel injury of the thorax on the right. Bullet wound of the shoulder. Hemothorax on the right. Zarina Bugulova, born December 2, 1989. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, penetrating shrapnel injury of the thorax on the right. Shrapnel wound of the right shoulder. Hemothorax. Acoustic trauma. Fidar Kusaev, born March 14, 2000. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, penetrating shrapnel injury on the right. Shrapnel wound of the left shoulder. Kristina Bekuzarova, born March 19, 1994. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, complicated penetrating wound of the thorax. Kazbek Dudiev, born January 30, 1994. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, shrapnel wound of the left renal region. Penetrating shrapnel injury of the thorax. Zaur Dzebisov, born January 1, 1992. Complicated cyst of the left lung. Department of Abdominal Surgery: Elena Vazagova, born December 21, 1994. Ds: Penetrating bullet wound of the abdomen with lesion of small intestine; craniocerebral trauma. Alevtina Fadeeva, born July 13, 1992. Ds.: Multiple shrapnel and bullet wounds of soft tissues in the lumbar part of the back, both shanks, and shoulder joint. Diana Esieva, born October 6, 1998. Ds.: Lacerated shrapnel wound of the axillary region. Milana Esieva, born September 20, 1997. Ds.: Penetrating shrapnel wound of the abdomen. Murad Kalmanov, 16 y.o. Ds.: Penetrating shrapnel wound of the abdomen. Department of Microsurgery: Georgi Farniev, born May 4, 1994. Ds.: Shrapnel wounds of the extremities, concussion syndrome. Elbrus Farniev, born October 17, 1997. Ds.: Blunt bullet wound of the right shoulder, neuritis of the medial and facial nerves, body abrasions. Kambolat Baev, born June 11, 1995. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, multiple mine shrapnel wounds of the extremities, anterior thoracic wall and abdominal wall, and the back. Resuscitation Ward: Victoria Gusevkova, born April 2, 1988. Ds.: Shrapnel wounds of the skull. Zamira Mamsurova, born February 15, 1991. Ds.: Mine blast trauma, soft tissue injury. Total: 27 patients. We did not place this complete list of Ossetian patients on our site earlier because of numerous corrections: children were redirected to other departments. Besides, there was no common opinion as to whether we should publish this list at all. However, when we asked the children themselves and their relatives, "Would you mind if we publish your names and photographs?", they answered, "No, we don't mind. We want people to know what we have been through." 10.09.2004 Dear friends, Yesterday, on September 9, twenty-two children from North Ossetia came to the RCCH. They were wounded during the terrorist act in Beslan. These children are of various ages, from very small ones to adolescents. Mostly they have got shrapnel wounds. Three of them are now in the resuscitation unit; they have already been operated in Moscow. All need prolonged treatment because of their severe traumas. The children are conscious but extremely depressed and slow to react, fallen into stupor. We will inform you about these children's needs as promptly as possible. At present the doctors of the RCCH tell us that all necessary medicines and equipment for the Beslan patients are available at the hospital. Various organizations have also transferred money to the children's parents; it can be used to buy food etc. Today we visited each child, talked with the little patients and their parents. And it became evident: to achieve their fast recovery and psychological rehabilitation, we must first of all distract the children from their memories of this tragedy. Experienced psychotherapists have come to the hospital. According to their estimate, rehabilitation of these children and their relatives will require a long time and professional help. It is still impossible to say if our psychologists have enough time and strength for this. More people may be required. If you are ready to offer your professional help, please get in contact with Lina Zinovievna Saltykova, the head of the RCCH Help Group, by phone number (095)130-64-42. Today the children rejoiced at our small gifts. Everybody received an audio player, a small sketch-book, and a box of soft-tip markers. Sketch-books, markers, and pencils will be necessary during the forthcoming weeks and months as well. We will be very grateful to you if you bring them to the hospital church (it is located in the administrative building of the hospital; the entrance to the building faces Leninski prospekt). The church is open from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, but actually one or another member of the Help Group is always present there from 12 a.m. You just knock at the door, and somebody will go out. On Saturdays, the church is open the whole day. You can also hand the drawing materials to the bookstall of the Kosma and Damian Church (Stoleshnikov pereulok, 2) in the central part of Moscow; maybe it will be easier for you to get there. Of course, the little patients would be very glad to see video films in their wards. Each ward usually hosts two children, brothers or sisters, with their relatives. So we needs only 10 sets: a 14-inch TV set and a video player. Please phone us if you can help. Some encouraging news: the head of the computer class of the Help Group visited the older boys today and cautiously asked them if they wanted to use the computer. And the boys were notably revived! It seems that another bridge for their return to life has appeared. 08.09.2004
A beautiful girl appeared at the hospital church on September 8. Her face
seemed familiar to us. "Don't you recognize me?" she asked.
She turned out to be Milena Karacharova, a former patient
of the RCCH. She received her treatment at the Departments of General
Hematology and Marrow Transplantation in 1999 and 2000, and the money
for her treatment was collected via this web site. We want to share our
joy with you: now, four years later, Milena feels wonderful! Here is her
message: Citosar, 230 packs, total cost 89.098.90 roubles, for the Department of Oncohematology. CellCept, 12 packs, total cost 97,175.76 roubles, for the Department of Kidney Transplantation, and 5 packs, total cost 40,489.90 roubles, for the same department. Diflucan, 50 packs, and Zovirax, 30 packs, total cost 39,734,20 roubles, for the Department of Oncohematology. Diflucan, 50 packs, and Zovirax, 50 packs, total cost 65,213,50 roubles, for the Department of Marrow Transplantation. Money was also paid to perform the following tests: 198 bacteriological tests in June, a total of 87,612.00 roubles. 253 bacteriological tests in July, a total of 114,206.00 roubles. 11.08.2004 Serezha Papkov died in the morning of August 10. His diagnosis, chronic myeloleukemia, was formulated in 1997. And since then, the doctors and parents fought for Serezha's life for seven years. A year ago, it became clear than medicines alone cannot help. The only chance was marrow transplantation, which took place this winter. Graft vs. host disease (GVHD) developed, and the donor marrow functioned very poorly. Stem cells were additionally transplanted; again GVHD and numerous operations on the intestine. Serezha's last operation took place on August 1. When he was taken to the operating ward on a wheel stretcher, he raised his head and waved his hand. "It was a farewell," his mother says. Thanks to the doctors, Serezha had these seven years. This time was filled not only with punctures and medicine droppers. Serezha studied at school, took an interest in fishing and computers. His favorite films were about wild animals. He even made friends with a girl. He managed to do much. The last half a year after the transplantation was hard. He had dermal, intestinal, and hepatic forms of GVHD. To cope with them, he had to take large doses of hormones, which provoked severe osteoporosis. During his last months, Serezha could not even turn in his bed. But, up to the last moment, he and his mother hoped that everything might yet be all right. It was very important for them to know that all things possible were done to save Serezha. The doctors, philathropists, and blood donors gave them this confidence. It is a pity we could not give more. 11.08.2004 Now about other children from the Department of Marrow Transplantation. "Markunin and Obolenski are our Gagarin and Titov," the doctors smile. "At our hospital, they were the first children with aplastic anemia who had marrow transplantation from an unrelated donor." Today Vadik Markunin and Igor Obolenski live in a rented apartment and arrive at hospital for the necessary treatment. Markunin has not known home life since his birth, only hospitals. When he arrived at the RCCH at the age of eight months, he could not even roll over. Even the doctors had but feeble hope that transplantation would be possible. But it took place, and now Vadik will finally see the world that was previously hidden from him by hospital walls. For the first time in his life, he lives in an apartment on the 14th floor. When his mother brought him to the window, he saw cars in the yard and said, "Toys. Give." He had never seen cars from a window of a multistorey building. This Sunday, he had his first boating in a park. Serezha Tropin and Lilia Fakhrutdinova are successfully restoring their health after marrow transplantation. They will also soon live in a rented apartment instead of the Marrow Transplantation Department. As to little David Gubaidullin, he will stay at hospital for the time being. He had graft vs. host disease and still has to take large doses of hormones, which are gradually decreasing. The doctors explain that the GVHD is good in David's case. Cells of the donor marrow kill all "bad" cells that could remain after the chemotherapy. David himself is in wonderful spirits, although he has gained weight after the hormonal drugs. He goes for walks with his mother and likes to listen when somebody reads books to him. At first, I didn't want to mix the sad news of Serezha Papkov's death and the news about other children. But then I thought that this is what our hospital life is like. Despair and joy closely linked. As one of our donors said, "Heaven is very close to the hospital. Well, and hell is not too deep there either." 28.07.2004 Dear friends, we are whole-heartedly grateful to all who help in buying medicines for Katya Limonova. Now the girl can go through the entire treatment course. The last five vials of Diphereline (total cost 45,749.75 roubles), which were required to complete the treatment, have been bought. Katya and her mother came to Moscow, received the drug, and Katya's mother wrote a message to all of you. "I want to express my gratitude to all people who responded to my grief. Thank you very much! You made me come to life again. When providing my daughter with medicines became a problem, all other concerns seemed just trifles. Now no words can express all my gratitude to you for your kindness to my daughter and your charity. Now I know that kind people indeed exist in this world and we can overcome any troubles together. In turn, I will never be indifferent to a person who needs my help. I thank you whole-heartedly once more! Elena, Katya's mother" 27.07.2004 Dear friends, Ilya Averin died. It happened the night before July 25, on Sunday. Unfortunately, the doctors could not save the child. Please pray for the boy's soul. We are sincerely grateful to all people who prayed for Ilya, expressed their compassion, and supported Ilya and his mother during all these hard days. We thank everybody who responded and helped in the struggle for Ilya's life: the Foundation of the Andrei Kuraev forum and personally Elena V. Trostnikova, and also Maria, Raisa, Stanislav, the parish of the Church of St. Nicholas in Pyzhi, Filipp and Ekaterina, Eugeni, Yana, Pavel, Anna, Sergei, Irina, Olga, Victor, Vladimir, Tatiana, Maria, Eugeni, Galina, Irina, Anastasia, Ekaterina, and all other benefactors. When children die, we see that our power is limited. The doctor's skill and the money cannot resolve everything. But, nevertheless, we should not lose heart. Many children recover and need our help for this! 24.07.2004 Ilya Rusakov, who was 12, died on Saturday, July 17, in the resuscitation ward. When I came to the Department of General Hematology two years ago, I met a tall fair-haired boy in a mask. His eyes were very sad and looked as if detached. It was Ilya Rusakov. He spent almost his entire life in the hospital: ten years out of twelve. Life in the hospital made Ilya an unusual boy. He read a lot of books, especially about adventures, including all books by Jules Verne. People around him were surprised by his assiduity and seriousness, so strange at his early age. He was a very bright boy. Two years ago, his parents decided to decline the offer of marrow transplantation. Such operations were not done in our country at the time, and it was almost unreal to raise funds for an operation abroad. And the main things that it is very difficult to risk such a complex, painful, and dangerous operation if the marrow still works somehow. It worked at the time. However, the boy's condition became worse and worse during these two years, and finally there was no other way out but marrow transplantation. But Ilya was already too weak. After the transplantation, all possible infections and old diseases became active, including hepatitis of several types. The boy's exhausted organism could no longer cope with them. Ilya was the only child in his family. 18.07.2004 Nikita Chalenko died. Nikita was suffering from juvenile rheumatic arthritis, systemic form. All possible drugs and all medical means were tried, but nothing helped. Then the last chance existing at present was used: bone marrow autotransplantation. It was preceded by high-dose chemotherapy, which was too much for the little boy's exhausted organism. Lung bleeding began, and Nikita died. He had autotransplantation in another department, and everybody wept when he was transferred there from his "native" Department of Immunology. All people around loved him: the doctors, the children, the parents. The doctors were amazed by his courage in the struggle with the disease and called him a "real steadfast tin soldier." Nikita was an only child in his family, and we can only hope that God will give his parents the strength to endure this grief. 08.07.2004 A letter from Anya Panikhidina's parents. Dear friends, we are writing to everybody who helped us and sympathized with us. These are words of gratitude and infinite joy. Your help, together with the doctors' -- and Anya's! -- efforts have allowed us to achieve the almost impossible. The fungi, which had made Anya suffer for more than a year, have been conquered. Now Anya merrily plays with her friends, watches animation films, sings and dances, goes down a steep slide, and rejoices at her victories, "Daddy, look how I run! Mom, I can jump!" However, we may not yet go home. The high toxicity of chemotherapy and antifungal medicines produced side effects: frequent colds, a gallstone, hepatic fibrosis, etc. And the chemotherapy is not yet over. So, for a year or so to come, Anya will be under observation at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital. She dreams of going back home, and we hope that she will grow up a healthy girl and show the same kindness and compassion as you have shown. Thank you very much again! Anya Panikhidina's mother and father 29.06.2004 Thank you very much for helping Kolya Dvoryaninov. The doctors say that he has reached a remission as to leukemia; the situation with the fungi is also much better. Presently there is no active fungal infection, but the antifungal treatment cannot be regarded as finished until the results of the histological examination of his lungs are known. The surgical removal of the lesion in his lungs was very hard on him but successful. Now the sutures have been removed, the wound has healed, and Kolya is receiving out-patient treatment, living with his mother at a boarding-house affiliated with the hospital. 24.06.2004 Dear friends, it is still impossible to order a prosthesis for Olya Tkachenko. The problem is that her wound is not healing after the operation, and the expander implanted to Olya does not yet show any engraftment. The doctors hope that it will take place after all. But, since Olya has already gone through many operations, her skin has lost its elasticity and the healing is very difficult. 04.06.2004 Dear friends, Kolya Dvoryaninov needs your help. As the doctors of the Oncohematology Department informed us, "During the chemotherapy, Kolya has developed a recurrent infection, including a fungal one, with pneumonia. Unfortunately, the standard antifungal therapy with Amphotericin B turned out to be bad for the boy because of its renal toxicity. In this connection, he should be treated with Ambisome (14 vials)." 01.06.2004 Serezha Vertkov recently came to Moscow, received substitutive therapy (Octagam), and went home in good spirits. The doctors say that he is looking simply marvellous, especially considering everything that he has had to endure. He develops well; he has started to walk and even run. He can do everything required for kids of his age and, in general, looks very smart. 31.05.2004 Diana Melekhina's mother writes, "I want to thank everybody who has responded to my letter about Diana and wants to help us in buying the ortheses. So far Diana has had a plastic surgery on her right knee. The operation was successful, and the sutures have already been removed. But, unfortunately, a hematoma appeared at one of the sutures, and it often bleeds. Until the wound is healed, the leg may not be plastered. Then, Diana will have to wear plaster on this leg for six weeks. And it is only afterwards that the ortheses are to be chosen. At that time, we'll know their exact price. We hope that you will support us, because otherwise Diana will not learn to walk. Diana's mother Elena Miklyaeva." A total of 73,324 roubles was paid for bacterial tests of children at the All-Russian Hematological Scientific Center. For tests at the Sklifosovski Institute, 2320 roubles was paid. 27.05.2004 Dear friends, Here is the latest news about some of the children. Serezha Rogozhin came for a control examination. His blood parameters are not bad (although the doctors expected them to be better), but problems began with his joints. So far, the boy is staying at home. His family are sending best regards to everybody. Ilya Averin has got no signs of infection now. But the bone marrow does not yet work, and the doctors suggest a repeated course of antithymocyte globulin (ATG). As to Mirza Magomedov, who has just turned four, the doctors have managed to take his fungal infection under control. It became possible to go on with the chemotherapy. The boy is now feeling better and happier; the fever, which had made him suffer so much, has receded. A total of 13,730 roubles was paid for viral tests of children with blood diseases at the Institute of Epidemiology. 25.05.2004 Two more packs of CellCept worth 16,217.96 roubles were bought for Yulia Yumankulova. 24.05.2004 An article about the Department of General Hematology of the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital was published on http://www.miloserdie.ru/index.php?ss=2&s=17&id=332 (in Russian). 23.05.2004 Dear friends, Thank you for promptly helping Ksyusha Karsakova and Katya Volkova with the inhalers. Both inhalers have been bought. But, since the girls have already left the hospital and gone home, we'll have to send the inhalers with other parents or with train conductors. 17.05.2004 Vincristine, Heparin, Purinethol, and Cyclophosphane (total cost 13,838.55 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. Methotrexate and Cytosar (total cost 8291.25 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. Epivir and Ursofalk worth 7537.86 roubles were bought for Igor Obolenski from the Marrow Transplantation Department. 17.05.2004 We are whole-heartedly grateful to everybody who helps Pavel Ryzhov. Thanks to your help, Pasha has received Ambisome and Mabtera in time. Now the fever is over; after the chemotherapy, the boy has reached a remission of his main disease (B-cell lymphoma). The doctors allowed him to go home for two weeks. Now all the necessary medicines for Pavel are available at the department, and so far we remove the reference to his page from the first page of our site. Unfortunately, Pavel has got another disease in addition to lymphoma: Nijmegen syndrome. This disease is due to a genetic defect and manifested in the form of immunodeficiency. Patients with the Nijmegen syndrome are at risk as to the development of infectious complications and malignant tumors. The only possible treatment of this disease is donor marrow transplantation. If Pavel's treatment goes on as planned, the doctors will soon start searching for a suitable marrow donor. Pasha has got no siblings, so the donor can be only unrelated. As soon as the doctors inform us that it is time to starts raising funds for the search, Pavel's page will appear at our site again. 06.05.2004 Dear friends, We are grateful to you for helping Kolya Melnikov. Thanks to your donations, Ambisome was bought for Kolya, and the infection was overcome. Now Kolya is feeling better. There is no fever. There is still some shortness of breath, but it has been compensated. The doctors say that now Kolya's condition will depend on the currently starting radiation treatment. We are grateful to the Russian Help Foundation and to the Ingosstrakh Company for helping our children with Cancidas, a powerful antifungal medicine. After the story about Danya Gorokhov was published in the Kommersant Daily newspaper and on the site of the Russian Help Foundation, 1,526,120 roubles (over 50,000 USD) was received on the account of OOO NNmed, the supplier of Cancidas, by April 30. The money raised for Danya was also sufficient to provide Cancidas to Mirza Magomedov (4 years old, acute myeloid leukemia complicated by a fungal infection) and Yura Khramchenko (7 years old, lung aspergillosis with aplastic anemia). Therefore, we remove the reference to Mirza's page from the first page of our site and thank everybody who has helped in buying Ambisome for him. Now he has got all the necessary antifungal drugs. He still has some fungal lesions in his liver and spleen, but the doctors say that the infection is now under sufficient control due to the combined antifungal therapy. Chemotherapy can be continued to fight his main disease, i.e., leukemia. 30.04.2004 Dear friends, Kolya Melnikov's mother addresses you again, but now with infinite gratitude. She says, "It is only thanks to your kindness that my boy begins to feel happy again. You just can't imagine what I felt when I saw a beam of life awakening again in my little son. And this beam becomes stronger day after day, turning into a real sun. Kolya has received all the expensive medicines that he needed so much. And now he is gradually learning to sit, to walk, and to play again. First he depended on additional oxygen supply for a long time, but even in this condition, with an oxygen bag, he went out for walks. We fed birds, looked at the sun, and rejoiced that he had another chance to survive. This chance appeared only thanks to your kindness, compassion, and understanding. Now Kolya is receiving out-patient treatment. The last stage is radiation treatment, and after it we are going home. And I sincerely hope that cancer, the most terrible disease on this planet, will be over for us. The doctors say that Kolya is a delightful child. We thank the doctors and all of you for believing in us. I'll always be grateful to all people who helped Kolya. We'll always pray for your health. Now we have future: not only Kolya but I as well. Now I see that all the struggle was not in vain. Thank you! I just can't express all my gratitude. God bless you! Olga Melnikova, Kolya's mother." 30.04.2004 A total of 67,250 roubles was paid for bacterial tests of children from hematological departments. 20.04.2004 Here is some news about the children. The Department of General Hematology was reopened last week, and patients are beginning to arrive. Yulia Migunova, a girl suffering from aplastic anemia, is now in a better condition, judging by the improving results of her tests. Yulia's mother, Lena, is very glad, but a new problem has arisen: they will probably soon be discharged from hospital and allowed to go home. However, the necessary specialists and equipment cannot be found at their native city of Saratov, and there can be difficulties with calculating the required doses of medicines, with the blood tests, etc. By the way, Yulia made a drawing for her donor ("The Magic Island") and handed two presents: embroidered pictures of a hare and a horse. Lusya Afanasieva (leukemia, condition after marrow transplantation) is also to go home. She is very glad. Now she will arrive at hospital only for control examinations. Zhenya Shcherbakova (acute myeloid leukemia M6) will go home till May 3. She will have the next chemotherapy block after her return and will again need blood transfusions after May 10. Mirza Magomedov is starting his next course of chemotherapy. The fungal infection is currently under control. Vadik Sanzharevski (a 2-year-old kid with myelodysplastic syndrome) is back at his hospital department. He has got aplasia after the last chemotherapy and needs transfusions. Nikita Moisak and Maxim Matveev have been transferred from the Marrow Transplantation Department to the Department of General Hematology. Nikita's condition is more or less good (remember how he needed granulocytes in March?), but Maxim has one complication after another. Igor Obolenski had marrow transplantation on April 16. Of course, he is not yet feeling good. Together with the marrow, our German friends have sent him a bag of chocolate, but a long time will pass until Igor will be able to eat it. But this is bearable; the only important thing now is engraftment of the bone marrow. In fact, no marrow transplantations from an unrelated donor have ever been performed to patients with aplastic anemia at the RCCH until now. The first was Vladik Markunin, who had this operation in March. At first the donor marrow started actively functioning, but now the doctors see that no engraftment has taken place. The hemopoesis has stopped, and the second transplantation is scheduled for May. Till then, Vladik can survive only if he regularly receives donor blood and platelets, although subjectively he is feeling good. So both boys, Markunin and Obolenski, must receive daily transfusions. Yura Khramchenko (aplastic anemia, lung aspergillosis) is in a serious but stable condition. Four of our donors have already shared their immunity (granulocytes) with Yura. A computer-aided examination on April 22 will show if these transfusions have had any effect. And another thing. Many of our children will soon celebrate their birthdays. Serezha Rogozhin has already had his on April 9 (at the moment, he was at home in Ivanovo). This Sunday, April 25, is the birthday of Danya Gorokhov, who will be one year old. Anya Soldatkina, a new patient (12 y.o.) will celebrate on April 28. Another new girl, Valya Kobeleva, will turn 11 a day later, on April 29. Igor Obolenski will turn 12 on May 2, and Mirza Magomedov will be three on May 4. They are waiting for your presents and congratulations. 13.04.2004 150 vials of Glucosteril worth 16,962 roubles were bought for children from the Marrow Transplantation Department. Miacalcic worth 3670.26 roubles was bought for Serezha Papkov from the Marrow Transplantation Department. Creon worth 6494.40 roubles was bought for Maxim Matveev from the Marrow Transplantation Department. 08.04.2004 100 venflons worth 2308 roubles were bought for the Immunology Department. 20 vials of Metypred worth 6305.20 roubles were bought for children from the Marrow Transplantation Department. A total of 100,316 roubles was paid to the Hematology Center for bacteriological tests. Tavanic worth 843.92 roubles was bought for Vika Rassadina from the Department of Immunology. 31.03.2004 Five vials of Cancidas (total cost 117,124.70 roubles) were bought for Matevos Vareldjan from the Department of Oncohematology. 24.03.2004 Dear friends, we are very grateful to everybody who has helped Ilya Averin. The Boomerang Foundation bought 10 vials of Cancidas, and five more vials (70 mg each) worth 117,124.70 roubles were bought due to your assistance. Dr. Maschan, who heads the Department of General Hematology, says that the fungal lesion of soft nasal tissues has been localized because of Cancidas and granulocyte transfusions. So no more Cancidas is needed so far. Now the doctors will wait for Ilya to respond to the treatment of his original disease, that is, aplastic anemia. 19.03.2004 Samanta Ptitsyna died of lung bleeding in the morning of March 18. She felt worse yesterday, was taken to the resuscitation ward, but it was impossible to save her. She will no longer boast about her plaited hair or joke with Dina Damirovna, her doctor. Lung aspergillosis with aplastic anemia presents a very serious danger. Earlier the death rate in such cases was about 95%, but now the chances for survival are much higher, about 25 to 30%, if Cancidas and granulocyte transfusions are provided in time. We tried to grab this chance but did not manage to help her. We thank everybody who did not leave Samanta alone in her tragedy, who supported the girl and Sardana, her mother, during the last weeks. Unfortunately, there are many things beyond our control. Dear friends, you know that we often ask you to help children from the Department of Oncohematology. Dmitri Vitalievich Litvinov, M.D., who heads this department, kindly agreed to tell us about it. We are very grateful to all those who agreed to provide a fridge for mothers and children from the hematological departments. They are already using it in their apartment. A total of 23,955 roubles was paid for virological testing of children with blood diseases at the Institute of Epidemilogy. A total of 100,814 roubles (215 examinations) was paid for bacterial tests to be performed at the Hematological Center. Discofixes and Leitungs worth 14,572.5 roubles, 500 masks worth 2350 roubles, 2 packs of IV Sandimmune worth 2654.08 roubles, 15 vials of Solu-medrol worth 4854.30 roubles, and 50 vials of Glucosteril worth 5973 roubles were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. Five vials of Dobutrex and 10 vials of Meronem worth 18,088.4 roubles were bought for Kolya Melnikov from the Department of Oncohematology. 60 vials of Ciplox worth 765.60 roubles were bought for the Department of Oncohematology. 16.03.2004 sosDear friends, Ilya Averin urgently needs our help. His life now fully depends on granulocyte transfusions and treatment with Cancidas, a modern antifungal medicine. Ilya has got aplastic anemia, extra severe form. At the end of February, he has developed a grave complication: bacterial and fungal sepsis. The doctors have managed to cope with the bacteria, but the fungi do not recede. Moreover, they have spread from his nasal passages to the sinuses and the area of lesion continued to increase until recently. The boy received Cancidas from March 4 to 12, along with granulocyte transfusions, and there appeared some hope. During this treatment, the area of the fungal lesion lessened, nose bleedings stopped, the fever abated. But this medicine is no longer available at the hospital and must be bought. Stable improvement of Ilya's condition is possible only if he receives treatment with this drug for at least four weeks. Otherwise, the fungi will inevitably spread again and, as the doctors say, will reach the brain and other internal organs, finally killing the child. One vial (70 mg) of Cancidas costs about 800 USD. Ilya's mother cannot buy it. We hope that you will help her! 12.03.2004 Dear friends, we have good news. Vladik Kiryukhin is leaving the hospital this evening. He was treated for aplastic anemia and underwent marrow transplantation in August 2002. The transplantation was followed by an extremely severe graft vs. host reaction, and the boy had to receive high doses of hormones. They caused a serious osteoporosis, such that this autumn Vladik could not even lift his body on the bed. He needed platelet donors even in August 2003. But Sveta, his mother, always repeated, "Slow does not necessarily mean bad." It was a real joy to see how Vladik first learned to rise on his elbows, then stand on his knees holding on to the back of his bed, then sit, and finally walk (first holding somebody's hand and then all by himself). Now Vladik is in good condition, and the doctors allowed him to go home. He will arrive in hospital only for control examinations. We are grateful to doctors, donors, and all contributors who have helped the boy. 11.03.2004 Here is the latest news about Serezha Vertkov and Anya Panikhidina. Serezha was discharged from hospital and went home in a good condition. His next visit to the hospital is to take place a month later. Unfortunately, this good condition is still very unstable, and the doctors say that the only way to the final cure is marrow transplantation. But Serezha has got no donor as yet (he is his parents' only child), and the transplantation is therefore impossible. As to Anya Panikhidina, it is the first time during her treatment that she has got no fever at all (body temperature not above 37 C, or 98.5 F). This means that the fungi are receding. Now, thanks to a publication in the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily newspaper, Anya has been provided with Cansidas for a long time, and her treatment for the fungal infection will not be interrupted. She has become very lively. She plays with other children, draws, reads, and gradually returns to normal life. However, she must still spend a long time in Moscow, because returning to her native town of Kurgan even for supportive therapy is dangerous. Six packs of Roaccutane were bought for Natasha Plevko from the Department of General Hematology. One pack of Rebetol worth 22,903.43 roubles was bought for Anton Kalinichev. 16 packs of Tienam worth 50,145.92 roubles were bought for Sasha Morozov. Six vials of Meronem worth 8646.66 roubles were bought for Kolya Melnikov from the Department of Oncohematology 15 vials of Solu-medrol worth 4857.60 roubles were bought for Maxim Matveev. 03.03.2004 Two packs of Zovirax (2581.48 roubles) were bought for Sasha Samoilov, who had recently had kidney transplantation. 4 packs of Tienam (12,475.76 roubles) were bought for the Department of Immunology. For the radiation treatment of Veronika Gerasimova and Vika Golyakova, 5834.40 and 18,174 roubles was paid, respectively. 02.03.2004 Leva Pyryaev will leave the hospital on Thursday. The doctors and donors have proved unable to help him. Leva will go to a hospital in the city of Syktyvkar together with his mother and an accompanying doctor. He will receive analgesics whenever he needs them. The date of his departure is not yet known for sure, because some issues have yet to be arranged with the hospital. This summer I used to visit Leva at the Department of General Hematology. This improbably charming blond boy was everybody's favorite. I brought a sketchbook and markers. "Draw for me," he says. "And what would you like?" "A little ship." We made a drawing: a ship, an island with a palm and grass, and Leva on this island. One of his hands is waving good-bye to the ship; the other is holding a balloon. Leva was pleased. Afterwards his mother used this sketchbook to teach him the ABC. Today I donated blood for granulocyte transfusions at the Marrow Transplantation Department and met Yulia, Leva's mother. "We were told to leave," she says. "I heard this twenty minutes ago." Yesterday Yulya still spoke with some hope... maybe the doctors will be able to do something... "He is not looking ill at all, but you see, these pains," says Yulia. Not looking ill? Swollen abdomen, arms and legs thin as matchsticks, pale face. Leva is lying on his side, entangled in plastic tubes, and looking at the TV screen with indifference. Morphine does not help anymore. "They give him something besides morphine," weeps Yulia. "Who's come?" "This is Katya. Haven't you recognized her?" "Why in glasses?" "To see you better. Just smile at her." After a pause, he smiles. Something vaguely resembling his former serene and mischievous smile. "Katya, we are so grateful to you and to all the donors for all you did for us. For the blood." No reason for gratitude. We failed to help them. M7 is the form of leukemia that is especially malignant, especially difficult to treat. A transplantation is possible only during a remission, but Leva's remission was short and hard to attain. Katya Chistyakova 24.02.2004 On our site you can now see photographs from the exhibition of our children's drawings at the Library of Foreign Literature (Moscow). This exhibition was opened on December 22, 2003. Ten vials of Neoton (6603.30 roubles) were bought for the Kidney Transplantation Department. Dobutrex and Ursofalk (2306.92 roubles) were bought for Olya Rumyantseva and Vika Rassadina from the Immunology Department. For the radiation treatment of Danila Kuzmin, Alesha Voskoboinikov, Ilya Ignatiev, and Vika Golyakova, the following sums were paid: 19,955.92; 19,468.80; 5834,40; and 18,174 roubles. Dear friends, we know that many of you are concerned about Zhenya Privalov's destiny. We have already written that Zhenya must undergo operations on his joints. So far there has been only an operation on one leg. But Zhenya will be able to start walking only after an operation on the other leg as well, and the doctors think it can be done only a year later. So ortheses are not yet necessary. But, thanks to your help, we have bought a new and very light folding wheelchair produced by Maira Co. (29,384 roubles). Zhenya's old wheelchair is completely broken, and this one is just what he dreamed about. Zhenya will spend this year in his new family. Tatiana and Dmitri, his adoptive parents, saw information about Zhenya's destiny in a TV show last spring and decided to help the boy. They came from a northern town of Ukhta to see Zhenya, and the boy spent the entire summer at their home as a guest. It turned out that Zhenya is very keen on helping in various houseold chores. He can even work with a vacuum cleaner while remaining in his wheelchair. Tatiana, Zhenya's new mother, is a teacher of music and a singer at a church chorus; Dmitri, the father, teaches at the university. They have three children. The elder boy is a cadet at the Suvorov military school; Xenia, a 13-year-old girl, plays the violen. The youngest child is Masha, who is four. She is a favorite with everybody, and Zhenya also likes her very much. It is strange but they even look alike. When representatives of the children's guardianship commission came to see how the boy lives in this family, little Masha sat down on his wheelchair, embraced Zhenya and asked, "Hope you won't take him away?" Now Tatiana and Dmitri have definitely decided that Zhenya will live in their family. They took him to their home and started filling all the documents. In addition, there is a rehabilitation health center near Ukhta. This summer, Zhenya already spent some time at this center, and now he will receive the necessary exercises and treatment there. So Zhenya's life has taken a happy turn at last. If anybody wants to write to him or to support Zhenya and his parents, we have got his address. 26.02.2004 For Nikita Chalenko, the bill for the corset (9250 roubles) was paid, and the corset is now under preparation at the Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedy. Nikita is feeling better. He has promised that he will stand up in his corset and even start walking by his birthday, which is on March 17. Nikita has got a good appetite, although the doctors are gradually reducing his dose of Prednisolone. Unfortunately, his disease is still active, and it is too early to think when and how he will be discharged from hospital. Still, some improvement due to Mabtera is observed.  18.02.2004 Vadim Nikitin died. In spite of all the
doctors' efforts and medicines bought thanks to your help,
it proved impossible to save him. Vadim's mother has lost
a child for the second time. Even in the midst of the
constant suffering at the children's hospital, her grief
seems unbelievably terrible. We only hope that God
will send her some consolation. Please pray for her.16.02.2004 Readers of the publications of the Russian Charity Foundation in the Kommersant daily newspaper bought 31 vials of Cansidas (552,682.57 roubles) and 70 vials of Ambisome (571,103.50 roubles) for Samanta Ptitsyna from the Department of General Hematology. An article with a request to help Danya Druzhin, a little boy from the RCCH, was published in the newspaper. The sum raised after this publication was sufficient to help not only little Danya but also some other children, including Samanta, who urgently needed powerful antifungal medicines, such as Ambisome and Cansidas. Diflucan, Zofran, and Bleomycin (total cost 34,633.28 roubles) were bought for the 2nd Oncohematology Department. Three-liter plastic bags for infusions (18,069.22 roubles) were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. 20 vials of Diflucan (10,300.4 roubles) were bought for Nastya Zhigalik from the Kidney Transplantation Department. Actilyse worth 21,279.39 roubles was bought for Kolya Melnikov from the Oncohematology Department. A total of 6400 roubles was paid for the storage of Sasha Morozov's stem cells at the Institute of Oncology. 30 vials of Metrogyl worth 485.10 roubles were bought for Maxim Apalkov from the Immunology Department. 22 packs of Viferon (20,460 roubles) and 10 packs of Ribamidyl (6400 roubles) were bought for Nikita Bazaliy from the Nephrology Department. Zofran, Vincristine, Lasix, Cyprofloxacin, and Cyclophosphane (total cost 13,748.90 roubles) were bought for the 2nd Oncohematology Department. 50 vials of Diflucan, 50 packs of Zovirax, 4 packs of Novoban (total cost 102,686.54 roubles), Discofix catheters (4074 roubles), and 100 vials of Glucosteril (11,913 roubles) were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. 7 central catheters (2783.72 roubles) were bought for the Department of Immunology. 13.02.2004 Vadik Nikitin is currently in the resuscitation ward in a very grave condition. The doctors have great problems with treating Vadim, because he has got two diseases and their treatment is mutually exclusive. The first one is hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells), and the second one is combined sepsis. To stop the hemolysis, his immunity must be suppressed, because otherwise the boy will die. But suppressed immunity promotes the development of various infections, which, in turn, stimulate the autoimmune complication (hemolysis). And the doctors have to fight for the boy's life within this vicious circle. Against hemolysis, Vadik receives Mabtera bought with your help, and presently the hemolysis has lessened a little. And infections are treated with antibiotics and Cansidas (or Diflucan if there is no Cansidas). Ten vials of Cansidas worth 179,044.80 roubles were bought for Vadim. The money for 5 vials was donated by readers of the Kommersant daily newspaper (publications of the Russian Charity Foundation). Other medicines bought for Vadim include 6 vials of Nimotop (5320 roubles) and 30 vials of Diflucan (15,450.60 roubles). Your help and prayers are now vitally necessary for the boy. 12.02.2004 Dear friends, you often ask about children whom you have helped. Here is the news about some of them. Oleg Kokoev has been living at home since autumn. When he came to Moscow for a control examination, the results of all tests were good and he was feeling fine. Everybody at the Department of General Hematology was glad to see him and said that Oleg was looking merry and pleased with life. Seeing a charming short-haired boy in the passage of the Department of General Hematology, one can hardly recognize Serezha Rogozhin! He can already go out for a walk and does it twice a day with his mother. The doctors are satisfied with his condition. He still needs blood transfusions, but there are also first signs of his response to the treatment. In addition, he has completely coped with the fungal infection. He is still limping a little, but, as his mother says, "he is just pretending, because he does not want to leave the hospital." We are very grateful to those who have helped in raising funds for Serezha's treatment and given their blood for him. Vladik Kiryukhin's condition has greatly improved. He lost some weight and started to learn walking again. So far his mother carries him in her arms and uses a wheelchair to take him out. He also likes to ride a trike along the passage of his department. The tests show good results. The doctors say that Vladik will be allowed to go home as soon as he learns to walk by himself. Leva Pyryaev is in a critical condition. He had a relapse of leukemia after the first marrow transplantation. The doctors, together with Leva's mother, decided to perform a second transplantation, which took place on February 3. However, the chances for its success are slight. Please pray for Leva. The situation with Pavel Ryzhov is very serious. He vitally needs medicines to fight lymphoma. In addition, he has problems with bearing his chemotherapy, and his blood pressure is disastrously high. But he is a courageous boy and tries to overcome his disease. He must go through the entire chemotherapy. If everything goes right, there will be a search for an unrelated donor and then marrow transplantation. 06.02.2004 For cytogenetic tests of Bislan Saaev, 7476 roubles was paid. Zerfix worth 6502.98 roubles was bought for Misha Lebedev from the Department of Microsurgery. A total of 72,116 roubles was paid for bacterial tests of children with blood diseases. Four vials of Nimotop worth 3500.64 roubles were bought for Larisa Aivazova from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. 50 vials of Lasix worth 2300 roubles were bought for the Oncohematology Department. 10 vials of Mitoxanthrone worth 9997.9 roubles were bought for Zhenya Shcherbakova from the Department of General Hematology. 20 more vials of Diflucan worth 10,315.8 roubles were bought for Menkya Ildjiev from the Department of Nephrology. The doctors say that the boy's condition has significantly improved. Vepesid, Zofran, Roaccutan, and Cytosar (total cost 10,225.27 roubles) were bought for David Gubaidullin from the Department of General Hematology. 30 vials of Diflucan worth 15,467.10 roubles were bought for the Department of Immunology. 50 vials of Diflucan and 20 vials of Zofran (total cost 35,675.64 roubles) were bought for the Department of General Hematology. Vincristine, Dexametasone, Leucovorin, Uromitexan, and Ciprofloxacin (total cost 8830.36 roubles) were bought for the 2nd Oncohematology Department. 05.02.2004 Dear friends, Vadim Nikitin, a 2-year-old boy from the Department of Clinical Immunology, needs your help. This kid, always so merry and sociable, has literally been between life and death for the entire last month. Vadik's main disease is Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome (primary immunodeficiency), complicated by pneumonia. In patients with immunodeficiencies, any infection can evoke an autoimmune reaction. This is what happened to Vadim. The boy has developed hemolytic anemia; that is, his red blood cells are being destroyed by his own immune system. This condition is dangerous not only because of the destruction of blood cells that supply organs and tissues with oxygen. Other results of hemolytic anemia may include lesions of kidney and other organs. The most urgent problem now is to stop the destruction of red blood cells, which is killing the child. The doctors have already tried hormone therapy and treatment with Cyclophosphane, but there were no positive results. Vadim's only possible chance is Mabtera, but one dose of this medicine costs 2000 USD, and all in all he will need at least four such doses administered to him. Another little boy, Serezha Vertkov, was in the same situation a short time ago. Understanding all the urgency, Euroservice Co. agreed to provide him with Mabtera on credit. And Serezha literally came to life again. In December, he could not even move, but now he has already starting walking. He is trying to dance and has learned to say "mom" and "dad." Although the whole sum for Serezha's Mabtera has not yet been raised, we removed his page from the first page of our site, because his condition has stabilized. And now Vadik Nikitin is waiting for Mabtera. Please help the little boy! 20.01.2004 Dear friends, you know that many children have to spend a long time at our hospital. Depression and apathy often accompany them in their treatment, which is a hard ordeal in itself, and diminish the children's ability to fight the illness. To recover, one must have a real interest in life, and therefore the doctors always advise us to invent various occupations and hobbies for our children. The sphere of these occupations becomes wider and wider, and we hope that the children who have to lie in bed for months will not stay behind healthy children of the same age but will even be ahead in some respects. Presently we are making another animation film. This project involves many children of all ages, from 3 to 17. Some of them draw, some sing, and the elder children master computer animation programs. Therefore we want to ask you for a favor. Our children who cannot leave their wards and participate in the common work, especially patients of the Marrow Transplantation Department, need notebook computers. This way they will not only paricipate in the common project and feel useful but also receive a new impulse, a new interest in life. The minimal technical requirements are Pentium II, 128. If somebody could donate such a computer to the children, we'd be extremely grateful to this person or persons. 18.01.2004 A total of 11,668.80 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Olya Kulakova and Dima Moiseev. 15.01.2004 90 vials of sodium bicarbonate (8553 roubles) were bought for the Departments of Oncohematology and Polychemotherapy and 160 vials of Amphotericin (2129.60 roubles) were bought for the Department of Oncohematology.. . Dear friends,. We are very grateful to everybody who responded to our request and helped us arrange the New Year celebrations. It was a real holiday for the children. Just as always before the New Year, our hospital church turned for several days into a warehouse where Grandfather Frosts kept their bags of toys. But this year the presents exceeded all our expectations. Not a single toy that was not thoughtfully and tenderly chosen. All the games, building blocks and meccano sets, wonderful kits for embroidery and drawing, beautiful dolls and cars, T-shirts with special markers for their coloring, and many, many other presents showed all the care and love you had put into them. And, of course, the children fully felt this on December 30, when many Grandfather Frosts with their Snow Maidens put these bags on their shoulders and carried them to hospital departments. They scurried to and fro along the passages, hastily greeting each other and sharing their impressions. Children of all ages met them at the entrances of all departments, in halls and in wards. They recited verse, sang songs, guessed riddles. Age was of no importance. Three-year-old kids rejoiced as much as teenagers. And even nurses and doctors, mothers and grandmothers sometimes forgot their adult age and gradly participated in the festivities. As to children who could not leave their wards, Grandfather Frost came to them himself and personally handed them their gifts. Everything was a real gift that day: the holiday itself, Grandfather Frost, and the children's joy at the presents, be it a cassette player or a toy horse. And, of course, this joy was so important for the parents, exhausted not only by their children's grave diseases but also by homesickness, lack of money, and uncertainty of their future.. . We again thank all of you very much. It is owing to you that the walls of the hospital did not separate our children and their parents from everybody's holiday 14.01.2004 Dear friends, you remember that we have several times asked you to help Serezha Papkov, a boy suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia. First we tried to raise funds in order to find Serezha an unrelated donor for marrow transplantation. Then there appeared Gleevec, a new anti-leukemic medicine, and Serezha's parents asked for your help in order to buy it, in hope that it might cure the boy. Mikhail and Elena responded to this plea and paid for a year's course of Gleevec that Serezha received. But, unfortunately, it did not help. The only remaining hope for recovery was marrow transplantation. The search for an unrelated donor was performed in the European Bank. The donor was found, and again Mikhail and Elena came for help: they paid for this search and for the transportation of the donor marrow to Russia. Serezha had his transplantation on December 15, 2003. When Serezha was taken to the Marrow Transplantation Department, the doctors told him what was awaiting him. The boy was shocked and depressed at first but then pulled himself together and started fighting for his life. He has made friends with all doctors and nurses. He constantly smiles and jokes, not only raising his own spirits but also cheering up everybody around. Too little time has passed since the transplantation, and nothing definite can be said. There are no infectious complications but there are signs of the the graft vs. host reaction on the skin. Serezha is one of the first patients mentioned on our site. We have known him for years and always loved him very much. Please pray for his health now. 09.01.2004 Dear friends, We are very grateful to all of you for helping Sasha Morozov and Yura Lobanov. Sasha is showing distinct positive dynamics. On Monday he will have a CT examination to estimate the size of the residual tumor. Now Sasha is feeling more or less good; the doctors are so far coping with his fungal infection. The boy was even allowed to go home for the weekend. On Tuesday he will start the next block of chemotherapy with Mabtera. 2 vials of Mabtera worth 138,501.88 roubles and 20 vials of Diflucan worth 10,544.60 roubles were bought for Sasha. Yura Lobanov is also showing positive dynamics. Although the doctors say that it is still too early to feel at ease, but for the time being there are no signs of the tumor. The purulent infection was successfully treated with Tienam. The boy feels quite good. He has got two short blocks of chemotherapy left. If nothing unexpected happens during these blocks, Yura will go home. Leva Pyryaev's situation is not very good. The doctors are soon planning to remove his spleen, where a residual tumor is present. Subjectively, Leva is feeling playful and merry. He has gained some weight (1 kg), and his cheeks have rounded. He makes a mischievious face and tells everybody that he is afraid only of dragons, nothing and nobody else. His father is taking care of Leva. Leva's dad can do everything very well, except that he is a poor cook. So Kostya Nekrasov's mother cooks food, and Leva eats it all, showing a keen appetite. 50 vials of Zovirax (13,192.30 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 25 vials of Diflucan (13,180.75 roubles) were bought for Menkya Ildjiev, 13 y.o., from the Nephrology Department. We are whole-heartedly grateful to everybody who supported Serezha Rogozhin! Dear friends, it is thanks to your help that the doctors have managed to organize a powerful antifungal therapy and continual transfusions of blood components. Now the fungal infection is under control. Serezha has got no fever, and the doctors say that he is showing marked positive dynamics. Unfortunately, this is not the case with Serezha's main disease, i.e., aplastic anemia. There is no progress here, the leukocyte count is still near zero, and the boy fully depends on transfusions of blood components. Subjectively, Serezha is feeling more or less normal: he has got a good appetite, goes out into the hospital passage in his wheelchair, participates in New Year celebrations, and talks to people with pleasure. Dear friends, please read this article about the December 31 celebrations in the RCCH departments hosting patients with the most grave diseases: http://mk.ru/numbers/810/article23144.htm (in Russian) or the article about the exhibition of the children's drawings: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/12/30/101.html (in English). 05.01.2004 40 vials of Glucosteril (4420 roubles) were bought for children from the Marrow Transplantation Department. Dear friends, We are very grateful to everybody who is helping Serezha Vertkov and praying for him. Today Serezha was transferred from the Resuscitation Department to the Immunology Department, where he actually receives his treatment. While this baby was in the resuscitation ward, the doctors regarded his condition as terminal and were afraid that he would die any nimute. The worst day was December 31. Serezha was on the verge of death. But then the medicines started to produce the expected effect, and, after Mabtera and Cyclophosphane were administered to him for the second time, his organism started to hold some hemoglobin. Serezha's condition is still very grave, but at least he is already "on this side": he can breathe by himself and look at the world. The doctors can now hope that Serezha will survive. Please pray for him! 80 vials of Maxipime (16,697.60 roubles) were bought for children from the Immunology Department. 30 vials of Diflucan, 100 vials of Amphotericin B, and 100 vials of Maxipime (total cost 57,993.10 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 100 vials of Amphotericin B (2129.60 roubles) were bought for children from the Department of General Hematology. 29.12.2003 100 vials of Amicacin worth 2100 roubles were bought for children from the Department of General Hematology. 25.12.2003 Dear friends, if you could not visit the exhibition of the children's art works, you can read about it in this newspaper article [in Russian]. 50 vials of Diflucan (26.438.5 roubles) were bought for children from the Marrow Transplantation Department. A total of 69,794 roubles was paid for bacterial tests of children from hematological departments at the All-Russian Hematological Scientific Center. 30 vials of Diflucan worth 15.731.1 roubles were bought for Alesha Voskoboinikov from the 2nd Department of Oncohematology; 10 packs of Diflucan in capsules (8016.8 roubles) were bought for Igor Alexeev from the same department. 100 vials of Vincristine Teva (13,725.8 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. Dear friends, we once more remind you that the exhibition of the art works of RCCH patients will be held from December 22 to February 1 at the Library of Foreign Literature (Taganskaya subway st., ul. Nikoloyamskaya 1). We hope that the originality of the children's works and their fresh view of the world will evoke genuine interest among the visitors. But we are no less concerned about another aim of this exhibition: to draw the public attention to the problems of gravely ill children and to charity causes. We hope that it will help us in raising the funds for buying expensive medicines, which are indispensable for the children's treatment. RCCH is a center of grief. There many places where help is needed, but this place is special. When a gravely ill child with his or her parents arrives here, the family becomes far away from all relatives and friends. These people are infinitely lonely and helpless. A load of numerous unbearable problems falls on them. The first of them, of course, is the child's illness. And then also the lack of money and the need to find it (and sometimes quite a lot) to pay for the medicines, food, clothing. We are asking everybody who can help the gravely ill and dying children: don't miss this chance to help! Let everybody try to do everything possible at this center of grief and hope. 20.12.2003 Diflucan, Zofran, Uromitexan, Leucovorin, Amphotericin, and Vincristine (a total of 81,241.38 roubles) were bought for the 2nd Department of Oncohematology. Albumin, Diflucan, Zofran, Meronem, and Zovirax (a total of 154,382.03 roubles) were bought for the Department of General Hematology. Diflucan, Maxipime, Fortum, Amicacin, and Leucovorin (a total of 73,642 roubles) were bought for the Department of Oncohematology. Dear friends, 17.12.2003 Diflucan and Meronem worth 48,492.40 roubles and
50 vials of Metrogyl (800 roubles) were bought for the Department of Immunology. 12.12.2003 sos
Dear friends, 11.12.2003 The RTR (Russian TV and Radio) team, which participated
in the Fort Bayard TV contest, transferred its prize money to
buy medicines for Kolya Larichev and bought 16 vials of Ambisome
for him. Many thanks! 03.12.2003 Five packs of Zovirax (6739.15 roubles) were bought
for the Marrow Transplantation Department. 80 packs of Diflucan (total cost 44,440 roubles) were bought for children from the Immunology and Marrow Transplantation Departments. Five packs of Tavanic worth 4208.05 roubles were bought for Vika Rassadina from the Immunology Department. 18.11.2003 Dear friends, Your help is vitally important for Kolya Larichev from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. Kolya has leukemia and in addition a fungal infection, aspergillosis, at its onset. So far he has fungi only in the bronchi, but, to avoid their penetration into the lungs, Kolya needs Ambisome injections. The doctors believe that even a short course of Ambisome will be sufficient to suppress the infection. But the boy has a very large body weight (95 kg), and so no less than 30 vials of Ambisome will be needed. This medicine is currently absent at the hospital, and Kolya's mother cannot buy it by herself, because one vial costs about 260 USD. She has two children, brings them up all by herself, and there is nobody to help her except you. Kolya has already gone through most of his antileukemic treatment, and it will be terrible if all the boy's suffering and the doctors' efforts will be in vain because of the fungal infection. Please respond to this announcement and help Kolya and his mother overcome this trouble. 13.11.2003 Five packs of intravenous Adalat (5000 roubles) were bought for Ilya Sizov from the resuscitation ward. For children from the Marrow Transplantation Department, 42 packs of Solu-medrol (21,589.26 roubles) was bought using the money received from the Aiutateci a salvare i bambini association. 11.11.2003 Dear friends, as you are well aware, there is an italian association that provides active help to our children. This association, Aiutateci a salvare i bambini, was created in 2001 and works in close cooperation with the Alexander Men Help Group at the RCCH. For all these years, the association (headed by its president, Ennio Bordato) has been continuously working at raising funds for the treatment of our gravely ill children, which come to the RCCH from all parts of Russia. The invaluable work of this association imparts a completely new level to the deep relationship that has always existed between Russia and Italy. Thick volumes have been written about Russian-Italian historical links in the field of fine arts, literature, or music. But only a few people know about the cause of the Italian association, which lies in the field of all-human solidarity. At first it seemed improbable that people so geographically distant from us, people of another language and culture, inhabitants of an economically successful country, may be deeply touched by our children's problems. So deeply touched that they not only expressed their compassion or provided help in single occasions but created a whole association, which actually gives a new chance of life to some Russian children from the RCCH: the money raised by the association makes it possible to buy expensive medicines for the treatment of the most gravely ill patients, such as those from the Oncohematology Department. The lives of these children depend on medicines and other treatment procedures that must be received in time. And it was many and many times that the efficient work of the association and Ennio Bordato's personal efforts made it possible to find the required money for certain children that needed urgent help. Year after year, the association expands its work to other spheres. This year it organized an exhibition of drawings and other works by the RCCH patients. This exhibition is to draw the attention of the Italian society to problems of gravely ill Russian children. The children want to live, to create, and to rejoice, and no words can express this so clearly as the paintings, icons, collages created by these children in the hospital wards. The exhibition took place in Rovereto, then in Bologna, and evoked a wide response. As Ennio Bordato says, this response is a sign that dozens of little patients from the RCCH may hope to receive timely help and be saved. Aiutateci a salvare i bambini, help us save the children! Consumables (caps with electrodes etc.) worth 48,180 roubles were bought for the EEG of children from the Psychoneurology Department. 20 vials of Albumin Baxter worth 23,696.20 roubles and 30 vials of Glucosteril worth 3810 roubles were bought for the Oncohematology Department. 20 vials of Neoton (a total of 13,732.40 roubles) were bought for the Kidney Transplantation Department. Special bandages worth 9340 roubles were bought for Alesha Lobanov, and the money for his massage (2470 roubles) was also paid. Alesha is currently having a rehabilitation course at a sanatorium in Gorki (Moscow region). Polina Panteleeva, 6 y.o., from the Department of Genetics, had an urgent heart operation. She needed an artificial valve. We paid 13,350 roubles, part of the required sum. Five vials of Nimotop (4587.55 roubles) were bought for Ilya Sizov from the Resuscitation Ward. A total of 33,838 roubles was paid for bacterial tests of children with blood diseases. 30 vials of intravenous Diflucan (total cost 25,875.30 roubles) were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. The money received from the Aiutateci a salvare i bambini association was used to buy 73 packs of Diflucan in capsules (total worth 60,754.98 roubles). Consumables for testing children for hereditary diseases were bought for 30,030 roubles. 03.11.2003 Dear friends, We are very thankful to all of you for helping and supporting children with juvenile rheumatic arthritis. All the children who were in need for Remicade were provided with it it for over a year, in time and in required amounts. But now the hospital has received Remicade as a humanitarian aid. For the time being, we remove the photographs of Katya Kovaleva and Alina Borodina from the first page of our site, because they have already been provided with Remicade. 23.10.2003 For the radiation treatment of Artem Fisenko at the Institute of Radiology, 17,573.40 roubles was paid. For the radiation treatment of Katya Yachmeneva, 5834.40 roubles was paid. Diflucan worth 16,826.70 roubles was bought for the Department of Immunology. 20.10.2003 The money received from the Aiutateci a salvare i bambini was used to buy 100 vials of Vincristine TEVA (16,181 roubles) and 10 vials of Albumin (7937.60 roubles) for children from oncohematological departments. 18.10.2003 Dear friends, Monologue You think there is no perpetuum mobile? But I know. It does exist. It is our
memory. One should be able to part with everything: with people, love, habits.
But one may not part with one's memory. Humans have got this beautiful and strange
gift: to remember. It is often thought that our life goes on after our death
while somebody remembers us: our children, relatives, friends, all people around
us. Their memory is a thread linking our soul to everything we loved. But there
is another memory. Of a person we have never seen. We have never known his world,
his attachments, his weaknesses and habits. But we will remember him all our
lives. We... I mean the parents and our children from the Kidney Transplantation
Department, Russian Children's Clinical Hospital, Moscow, Russia. And that stranger
is the person who left this world but gave a new life to our children - the
donor kidney. May your memory life on forever, stranger. Adalat and Neoton (total cost 11,880 roubles) were bought for the Kidney Transplantation Department. Viferon and Phosphoglyph (total cost 9482 roubles) were bought for Nastya Zhigalik from the Kidney Transplantation Department. i/v Biseptol (2185 roubles) was bought for Alesha Rybin from the Oncohematology Department. The money received from the Aiutateci a salvare i bambini Association for children with blood diseases was used to buy 200 vials of Amphotericin B for both Oncohematology Departments (2698 roubles), 100 vials of Rubomycin (5797 roubles), and Endoxan for the Immunology Department (22,086.90 roubles). For bacterial tests of all children from hematological departments, 34,576 roubles was paid to the Hematological Scientific Center (HSC). 17 packs of Orungal (20,332.51 roubles) were bought for Kolya Larichev from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. Suppositories with Salofalk (2383.15 roubles) were bought for children from the Gastroenterology Department. 22.09.2003 The money received from the Aiutateci a salvare i bambini association for children with malignant blood diseases was used to buy the following medicines: Edicin, Cymevene, Vincristine, Diflucan, Thiophosphamide, Metotrexate, Amphotericin B, Trental, and Endoxan (total cost 361,372.73 roubles). 23,400 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Podrezov, a hospital patient, at the Institute of Radiology. 15.09.2003 A corset worth 7240 roubles was bought for Ilya Ignatiev from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. For all children from the Oncohematology Department, 60 vials of imported Vincristine (total of 10,405.76 roubles) and 30 vials of Vincristine Lance (3055.80 roubles) were bought. 20 vials of Vincristine Lance (2037.20 roubles) were bought for the 2nd Oncohematology Department. 15 vials of Cymevene (24942.72 roubles) were bought for Katya Yachmeneva from the Oncohematology Department. One vial of Remicade worth 24309.01 roubles was bought for Alina Borodina. Two vials of Remicade (48.618.02 roubles) were bought for Lena Merzlyakova from the Immunology Department. For the radiation treatment of Soslan Dzgoev at the Institute of Radiology, 17573.40 roubles was paid. 14.09.2003 Veronika and Kirill have paid the entire cost of Sasha Tadtaev's prosthesis. Many thanks! 14.09.2003 We are very grateful to Irina, who bought 5 vials of Cardioxane for Oleg Kokoev. One more vial of this medicine worth 7031.75 roubles was bought using the incoming donations. Now Oleg has to go through the last and most severe block of chemotherapy, which would be impossible for him without this medicine. 08.09.2003 Four more vials of Cansidas (total worth 76,353.2 roubles) were bought for Anya Panikhidina. Anya's doctors-in-charge thank everybody who helped the girl. They have written the following message: "Dear friends, the doctors of the Oncohematology Department are very grateful to everybody who provided financial help for Anya Panikhidina during the last few months, buying such expensive medicines as Ambisome and Cansidas. The girl is suffering from acute lymphocytic leukemia and a severe form of a disseminated fungal infection. As a result of the therapy, the child's condition improved. Examination shows that fungal lesions of the spleen, kidney, and muscles have been removed. A positive dynamics (reduction of focal lesions and possible beginning of cicatrization within these lesions) is also observed in the liver. The intense antifungal therapy also made it possible to continue with the chemotherapy, which is highly necessary because of the child's basic disease, acute leukemia. All the medical staff once more thanks everybody who has helped Anya Panikhidina." Anya's parents, understanding that their girl's treatment is extremely expensive, began to address various organizations with a plea to help the child. Frank Foundation Child Assistance International responded to them. It will support Anya now. 28.08.2003 Two vials of Cansidas were bought for Leva Pyryaev. Leva is very glad: his mother arrived today! She will live in the hospital and take care of him. Leva is radiant with joy and tells everybody that he is together with his mummy now. He feels good. The timely therapy with Cansidas enabled him to cope with the fungal infection that had interrupted a chemotherapeutic block. Leva has completely recovered from the infection, but his main disease, leukemia, has not yet been taken under control. Therefore he will have to undergo marrow transplantation after the chemotherapy. Leva's brother Ernest, 13 y.o., will be the donor. If everything goes well, the transplantation will take place in 1.5-2 months. 25.08.2003 Five more vials of Ambisome (total of 40,741.80 roubles) were bought for Anya Panikhidina. In a few days, the doctors will arrange a joint consultation to determine the further tactics of Anya's treatment and discuss the results and efficiency of the antifungal therapy. Therefore, we will no more collect money for Anya for the time being but wait for the doctors' decision. IV Biseptol (25,311 roubles) was bought for all children from the Oncohematology Department. A total of 40,648 roubles was paid for bacterial tests. An Ommaya reservoir worth 10,600 roubles was bought for Veronika Gerasimova from the Oncohematology Department. The reservoir was installed at the Burdenko Institute. A corset worth 7240 roubles was bought for Arkadi Shvedov from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. Neoton worth 3301 roubles for bought for Katya Yachmeneva from the Oncohematology Department. Adalate worth 2220 roubles was bought for Andrei Mikhailov from the Marrow Transplantation Department. Albumin worth 8005.80 roubles was bought for all children from the Oncohematology Department. 18,174 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Dasha Mitina from the Hematology Ambulance. 3861 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Dasha Merenkova. 17071.93 roubles was paid for anesthetic kits. 08.08.2003 Albumin and Dopamin (a total of 14,455.57 roubles) were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. Sergei bought two more vials of Cansidas for Anya Panikhidina. Five vials of Ambisome worth 40,649.40 roubles were also bought for her. Biseptol worth 2628.96 roubles was bought for Katya Barabanova from the Oncohematology Department. Cardioxane worth 27,789.52 roubles was bought for Oleg Kokoev. Dopamin, Fortum, Amicacin, Alkeran, and Dobutrex (total of 26,670.82 roubles) were bought for the Oncohematology Department. One vial of Cansidas worth 18,963.12 roubles was bought for Leva Puryaev. For the radiation treatment of Nastya Parshina, 14,121.12 roubles was paid. Five vials of Albumin (total of 4350 roubles) were bought for Natasha Potapova from the Hematology Ambulance.  05.08.2003 Dear friends,we are asking you to help Leva Pyryaev, 4 y.o. He lives in the town of Vorkuta with his parents. He fell ill three months ago and was taken to the regional children's hospital in Syktyvkar. The doctors saw that he had a severe form of leukemia and directed him to the RCCH in Moscow. At that very moment, the fourth child appeared in the Pyryaev family, and Leva's mother had to take care of that baby. She cannot go to Moscow to care for Leva. But it seems that his parents were not too attentive even before that. When he was admitted to the General Hematology Department, everybody saw that he was miserable, hungry, and desolate. He was like an orphan, although his parents are alive. Another child's mother is now taking care of him. In addition to leukemia, Leva has developed a fungal infection, which is now threatening his life. So the most important problem now is to cure this infection. Cansidas, an expensive medicine (575 USD per vial), is necessary. We hope that you will help the boy. 30.07.2003 Dear friends, we are very grateful to you for helping Anya Panikhidina. Thanks to you prompt response to our plea, Cansidas was bought. The doctors inform us that this medicine gave a very good result. Anya had a CT scan, which showed "significant positive dynamics in the form of decreasing focal lesions and the formation of cicatrical changes in their place." To put it simpler, the girl is feeling much better. She goes out for walks, has a normal appetite, speaks to guests, draws, and plays with her toys. Now she needs more antifungal drugs, Cansidas and Ambisome, for a complete recovery. The money received from Latvia was used to buy 3 vials of Cansidas. They will suffice for 9 days. A total of 13,556.40 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of three children: Yunus Tsukaev, Nastya Sintenkova, and Maxim Finozhenok. Biseptol in vials worth 2628,96 roubles was bought for the Oncohematology Department. 28.07.2003 For the radiation treatment of Nastya Savelieva from the Oncohematology Department, 3861 roubles was paid. 21.07.2003 Vincristine worth 5098.50 roubles was bought for children from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. 18.07.2003 Alexei paid 9000 roubles for the NMR tomographic examination of two children from the Oncohematology Department: Masha Pantukhova, 21 months old, and Nikita Shishlyaev, 2 y.o. 16.07.2003 Endoxan and Dobutrex worth 5542 roubles were bought for the Oncohematology Department. Alexander from Dubna donated 500 USD for the NMRT examinations of children from the Oncohematology Department. Olga from Podolsk also donated 500 USD. Pavel (USA) donated 300 USD. 5834.40 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Ira Fandeeva. The money transferred by Victoria was used to buy two Pelican setups (108,000 roubles) for the disinfection and purification of air to be installed at the 2nd Oncohematology Department. Testing reagents worth 46,089.63 roubles were bought for all children with blood diseases. For the diagnostics and repair of the blood counter, 16,401.60 roubles was paid. Surgical instruments worth 89,141 roubles were bought for the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery. 8 packs of Solu-Medrol (1500 roubles) were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. 14.07.2003 Dear friends, we are gladly telling you good news: our Foundation received an honorary certificate from the Obruchev municipality (our hospital is located at its territory) "For the special care and charity and for following Christian traditions for the sake of suffering children". Of course, this gratitude is not only addressed to the Foundation. It is to all of you, you who help the gravely ill children, you who whole-heartedly respond to the parents' pleas and the children's troubles. Many thanks to you! 13.07.2003 Andrei Karnaukhov died. You and we have started helping this boy long ago. His condition was poor all the time. The doctors could not diagnose his disease for a long time but finally understood that he had lymphohistiocytosis, a serious blood disease. A customary treatment did not help him, and marrow transplantation remained the only way out. Olya, his elder sister, was the donor. Andrei's condition was so grave during the last few months that his parents did not leave him, providing round-the-clock care. Unfortunately, the transplantation was not successful. We hope that God will support Andrei's parents in their grief. Their consolation now is their elder daughter, a wonderfully bright and talented girl. She not only graduated from secondary school with honors at this moment, so difficult for the entire family, but also successfully passed the entrance exams to Moscow State University. Please pray for this family.  11.07.2003 The Aiutateci
a salvare i bambini association and Ennio Bordato transferred 575
USD via
the online credit card system for Anya Panikhidina,
3 y.o. She needs Cansidas, a new medicine, the only one that
can help her.Anya has fungal sepsis. One vials of Cansidas for her costs 17,480 roubles (ca. 580 USD). The doctors say that it is impossible to help the girl without this medicine. She will just be doomed to die. The medicine is urgently needed. Please respond if you only can. 09.07.2003 Natasha Ivanova has sent a letter to everybody who had helped her. Dear kind people, my mother and I are thankful to everybody who helped us in raising money for the prostheses. They are ready now, and I am learning to walk together with my mother. Many best wishes to all of you. Let God give you more health and a fulfilment of all your wishes for your kindness and compassion. Yours respectfully, Natasha 09.07.2003 Serezha Papkov received two more packs of Glevec. He feels good, but the tests show there is no complete response to this treatment. So Serezha's mother only hopes that marrow transplantation will help. There will be a search in the World Register, and, if a donor is found for Serezha, the boy will have this transplantation. We will certainly tell you about Serezha's treatment: whether a donor is found and when the marrow transplantation is to take place. 09.07.2003 Ten more vials of Ambisome (a total of 81,272.40 roubles) was bought for little Anya Panikhidina from the 2nd Oncohematology Department. 50 Hepatitis B vaccines were bought for children from the Marrow Transplantation Department. Testing reagents worth 46,089.63 roubles were bought for children with blood diseases. Surgical instruments worth 89,141 roubles were bought for the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery. 30.06.2003 I, the mother of Yulia Krasilnikova, want to express my gratitude for your moral and financial support in my child's treatment. Now I can hope that my daughter will be healthy. The money donated for her initiated a long, multistage treatment process. I have always believed that kind, compassionate people, which can understand another person's pain and suffering and come to help, can be found everywhere, irrespective of the place on Earth or on their religion. We sincerely wish that this noble cause will flourish, and I am sure that you will give a helping hand to everybody who may ask you for protection and support. Yours gratefully, Nadezhda Anatolievna Krasilnikova 04.07.2003 A total of 31,776 roubles was paid for bacterial tests of children with blood diseases. 23.06.2003 Nadezhda Petrovna and her friends together with Natasha bought 50 vials of Vincristine, 50 vials of Vancomycin, and 5 vials of Asparaginase for the Oncohematology Ambulance. 8650.50 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Yana Voziyan. 5834.40 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Masha Pitkinen. 100 vials of sodium bicarbonate (total cost 14,190 roubles) and 126 vials of Vancomycin (total cost 45,932.04 roubles) were bought for the Oncohematology Department. 42 vials of Vancomycin (total cost 15,310.68 roubles) were bought for the Immunology Department. Two vials of Remicade (total cost 48,871.02 roubles) were bought for Lena Merzlyakova from the Immunology Department. 18.06.2003 Sergei transferred 2000 USD for the treatment of children with malignant blood diseases. 15.06.2003 We are very glad to congratulate our dear doctors with receiving the national prize "Prizvanie" (www.prizvanie.ru) for 2003 in the nomination "For Creating a New Direction in Medicine." This prize is given to the best doctors or clinics of the country or to representatives of nonmedical professions that have made a great contribution to the development of medicine. The following remarkable specialists in child hematology received this prize: Prof. Alexander Nikolaevich Rumyantsev, Director of the Research Institute of Child Hematology Prof. Alexei Alexandrovich Maschan, Deputy Director of the Research Institute of Child Hematology Dr. Evgeni Danilovich Pashanov, Head of the Immunology Department at the Research Institute of Child Hematology Dr. Elena Vladimirovna Skorobogatova Dr. Dmitri Nikolaevich Balashov, Head of the Marrow Transplantation Department Our doctors and their colleagues headed by Prof. Rumyantsev have indeed created a new direction in the Russian pediatrics: child hematology and oncology. This service did not exist as a special direction before. Child oncology and hematology existed only in clinics for adults, and the survival rate of children with oncological diseases was not higher than 7-8%. After this service was created, the survival rate demonstrated a tenfold increase! Now one can speak of hundreds and thousands of saved child lives all over Russia. The award ceremony was very festive. It was presented by Elena Malysheva (the Zdorovye TV Program), Alexander Rosenbaum (a former doctor, now a well-known singer), and Konstantin Ernst, Director of the Public Russian TV (ORT). The winners were given a sculpture depicting "The Doctor's Golden Hands Holding a Crystal Human Life" and the diploma of "The Best Russian Doctor, 2003". Before the prize was handed to the doctors, they were shown on TV and then arrived at the stage together with their saved patients. This was the most impressive and significant moment in the whole ceremony, confirming the sublime meaning of a doctor's profession. Four children saved from deadly diseases in the most hopeless circumstances arrived on the scene together with the doctors. One of them, the six-year-old Anton Kalinichev, recited a verse about mummy. Five years ago, Anton was the first child in Russia to undergo a marrow transplantation from an unrelated donor. Presently such unrelated transplantations are gradually becoming a reality of the Russian medicine. Many oncological diseases are curable now. However, one cannot say that the victory over child cancer has already been reached. More and more patients arrive at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital. It is a paradox: the higher the medical achievements in this field, the more patients there are. We hope that the prize given to hematologists will become a new impulse in the development of child oncology and hematology and will draw more attention of the government, private benefactors, and business persons to the problems of gravely ill childen. 10.06.2003 Rebetol worth 26,628.80 roubles was bought for Anton Kalinichev. 20 vials of Ambisome worth 164,817.40 roubles were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. Part of this sum (18,300 roubles) was donated by Dmitri. Bleocin worth 8555.14 roubles was bought for the 2nd Oncohematology Department (former Hematology Ambulance). 28.05.2003 Sergei bought 11 vials of Ambisome for Tamara Nazarova from the Marrow Transplantation Department. 04.06.2003 Ten vials of Tienam (33,986.70 roubles) were bought for Yura Timofeev from the Oncohematology Department. A total of 17,545 roubles was paid for bacterial tests in May. 100 vials of Sodium Bicarbonate 5% worth 14,322 roubles were bought for children from the 2nd Oncohematology Department (Hematology Ambulance). Elena and Eugeni bought 5 vials of Ambisome for Valera Gilin from the General Hematology Department. 27.05.2003 SOS Little Toma Nazarova, 8 y.o., urgently needs granulocyte donors, 0+. Please phone 936-9023. 26.05.2003 Danila and Alexei bought two vials of Remicade worth 49,471.62 roubles for Valera Gilin, a little boy from the Department of General Hematology, and ten vials of Ambisome worth 82,885 roubles for Anya Panikhidina, a girl from the Hematological Ambulance. A total of 30,132 roubles was paid for genetic tests of children from the Department of Psychoneurology No. 2. 21.05.2003 33,348 roubles was paid for bacterial tests in April. Depakine Chrono worth 1833.26 roubles was bought for Nastya Kraskova from the Department of Abdominal Surgery. 13.05.2003 Ten vials of Ambisome (total cost 83,439.40 roubles) were bought for the Marrow Transplantation Department. Two vials of Remicade (total cost 49,914.04 roubles) were bought for Anya Chizhova and Lena Merzlyakova from the Immunology Department. 11.05.2003 A total of 10,374 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Zhenya Laptev from the Oncohematology Department at the Institute of Radiology. Remicade worth 24,957.02 roubles was bought for Katya Kovaleva from the Immunology Department. 200 vials of Dacarbazine (total cost 14,003.14 roubles) were bought for the Hematology Ambulance. The money received from Sergei (Germany) was used to buy one more vial of Remicade worth 24,957.02 roubles for Nikita Demin from the Marrow Transplantation Department. During the New Week (the week after Easter), pupils and teachers of the Peresvet Orthodox school organized a charity feast in favor of children from the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital. They prepared books, letters, and self-made postcards and sent them to the hospital. They also collected 8500 roubles for Natasha Ivanova's prosthesis. Both prostheses are ready now, and Natasha went home together with her mother. She will be learning to walk now. Although the total cost of the prostheses has not yet been fully paid, Otto Bock Co. still delivered them to Natasha under the condition of guaranteed payment. Therefore we are still raising the funds for Natasha Ivanova. 04.05.2003 Maria and Ulyana paid for 200 vials of Methotrexate-Teva (total cost 16,823.37 roubles) for children from the Oncohematology Department. 200 vials of Leucovorin (total cost 18,750.60 roubles) were bought for the Oncohematology Department. 28.04.2003 Irina paid for hearing aids to be bought for Martazamov (23,542 roubles) and for Serezha Gritsutenko (16,738 roubles) from the Department of Immunology. Irina donated 24,949.10 roubles to buy Remicade for Nikita Demin from the Marrow Transplantation Department and 41,719.70 roubles to buy Ambisome for Roma Maksaev from the same department. A total of 14,121.12 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Zhalnin. Anna bought 4 vials of Remicade for Anya Chizhova from the Department of Immunology. 25.04.2003 Maria and Ulyana paid 6120 roubles to buy Pharmorubicin for the Oncohematology Department. 23.04.2003 Methotrexate worth 10,788.36 roubles was bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 21.04.2003 A hearind aid worth 15,999 roubles was bought for Dima Zykin, a boy from the Kidney Transplantation Department. 18.04.2003 Katya Putyaikina died on March 31. Her life lasted only 9 years, and for the last four years she was gravely ill. Sometimes it seemed that just a little more, and she would overcome the terrible disease. Katya had marrow transplantation a year ago, and her condition started to improve very fast. Together with her mother, she was already dreaming of going back home to a small town of Verkhni Ufalei in the Urals, and they had most sanguine plans. But suddenly the results of the tests deteriorated disastrously, and malignant cells appeared. The doctors said there was no more hope. And Galya, Katya's mother, made a courageous decision: to go back home with her daughter. She wanted Katya to see her best dream fulfilled, to be at home again. And the girl spent two weeks there. She felt more or less good all the time and played with her sisters and friends. On her last day, she visited her friends and then went to bed and did not wake up. When they were leaving Moscow, Katya's mother said that the year of life they had been given at the hospital was very important for them. They were always surrounded with love and kindness, constantly feeling everybody's support, and many people were concerned with their destiny - above all, the doctors and the entire staff of the Marrow Transplantation Department. Galya said they had been just like a single family. She was not left alone with her problems and afterwards with her terrible grief. Many people provided financial help, which enabled the doctors to do everything for saving Katya. Galya knew that all things possible had been done. It is very important to understand that not a single chance was missed in the struggle for a child's life. People who did not know them at all came to the hospital to bring some amazing toy for Katya. For she felt too grown-up because of her disease, and her eyes were often serious and sad. Although everything ended so terribly, Galya and little Katya left Moscow with a feeling of deep gratitude and love to all the people who were together with them during this time, the time that was so infinitely difficult for them. 09.04.2003 Three vials of Remicade (total cost 75,297.75 roubles) were bought for Lena Merzlyakova and Anya Vorobieva from the Department of Immunology. 08.04.2003 Walkers worth 5000 roubles were bought for Zhenya Privalov from the Department of Microvascular Surgery. Zhenya is learning to walk now, and the walkers must help him. 7651.80 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Tolya Grudanov from the Oncohematology Department. 6351.60 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Dima Shchukin. 01.04.2003 Denis bought one more vial of Remicade worth 25,170.42 roubles for Nikita Demin from the Marrow Transplantation Department. A total of 23,012 roubles was paid for the bacterial tests of children from hematological departments. Methotrexate worth 4535.12 roubles was bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 28.03.2003 Kolya Altynov died in Germany on March 25. Maybe because he was not just a suffering child but also an extremely gifted violinist, there were an unprecedented number of people who tried to help him. Everybody loved Kolya as one would love a family member or a close friend. His death was a shock for many and an irreplaceable loss for the Russian music. Rest in peace!
"To Survive Till Spring." My life has changed a great deal since that memorable phone call. I remember
it as if it were today, although several months have passed. A woman calling
from the Hematology Department of the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital asked
me to donate blood for Polina, her two-year-old daughter. Her tone was quite
matter-of-fact and revealed nothing of what was actually happening to her. I
promised to come.  22.03.2003 Our site was linked to the WebMoney system
today. The following accounts are open for donations:USD - Z392470441191 roubles - R238658115601 EUR - E278533841621 21.03.2003 Dmitri bought 1 vial of Remicade (worth 780 USD) for Nikita Demin, a boy from the Marrow Transplantation Department. After marrow transplantation, Nikita has developed a severe graft vs. host disease. All other means of fighting this disease proved to be inefficient in his case, and the doctors decided to use Remicade. 21 vial of Meronem was bought for Sveta Smirnova from the Medical Genetics Department. 20 vials of Asparaginase Medac, 130 vials of Alexan, 20 vials of Albumin, and 25 vials of Methotrexate (total cost 75,791.30 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 25 vials of Asparaginase Medac and 58 vials of Vincristine (total cost 46,589.19 roubles) were bought for children from the hematological ambulance. 18.03.2003 Remicade worth 25,170.42 roubles (ca. 800 USD) was bought for Tkachenko and Makarov, two little patients of the Immunology Department. Consumables worth 9100 roubles (ca. 300 USD) were bought for the Department of Craniofacial Surgery, where many orphan children with facial pathologies are being treated. 10.03.2003 Schoolchildren from Novopoltavsk (Kabardino-Balkaria) have sent a touching parcel for the children of our hospital. It contains self-made knitted toys, sweets, and jams. This parcel has been collected with a great feeling and will surely warm the hearts of the suffering children. We are so thankful! 07.03.2003 Nastya Kurbanova died. We have already written here that she had had a relapse of leukemia, in spite of marrow transplantation. Nastya's mother decided that they would not resume the painful treatment, and the girl spent her last months at home, among her friends and relatives. Nastya did not know that she was ill again. She felt good and was very glad to be home, to see her friends, to receive presents. The only slight consolation is that she had no pains at all, just died quietly in her sleep. Please pray for Nastya's parents. We hope that God will give them the strength and courage to live further. The money received from the Aiutateci a salvare i bambini association was used to buy 4 infusomats (total cost 156,310.76 roubles) and 5 perfusors (total cost 158,480.10 roubles) for the Oncohematology Department. 04.03.2003 Yuri Stepanovich paid for a Pary Turbo Boy inhaler for Kolya Mozhnoi, 12 y.o., from the Department of Thoracic Surgery. A Pary Turbo Boy inhaler worth 8146 roubles was bought for Vova Danilov from the Department of Thoracic Surgery. Two more inhalers (total cost 16,292 roubles) were bought for all children of this department. Twenty vials of Ambisome (total cost 169,415.40 roubles) were bought for the Oncohematology Department. Cardioxane worth 6410.03 roubles was bought for Ira Fandeeva from the Oncohematology Department. A total of 24,717 roubles was paid for the bacterial tests of children from the hematological departments. Three orphan girls from the Oncohematology Department: Ira Fandeeva (foto 1, 2, 3), Sonya Rakhtyna (foto 1, 2), and Nastya Savelyeva, as well as two kids from the Immunology Department: Valera Khailov (foto 1, 2, 3) and Katya Markova (foto 1), received wonderful presents from France. We are whole-heartedly grateful to Laurence and Michel Melendre and to their prayer group for helping the children and praying for them. 28.02.2003 Fifteen vials of Ambisome (total cost 118,755.45 roubles) were bought for Kristina Koshutina from the Marrow Transplantation Department. An anonymous benefactor presented two monoblocks (TV set + video tape recorder) to the Marrow Transplantation Department. We are very grateful to him. The TV will distract the children, and now it will be easier for them to bear the painful treatment. Yuri Stepanovich bought 3 vials of Remicade for Alina Borodina and Yulia Romanova, as well as for Vika Rassadina from the Marrow Transplantation Department. Yuri Stepanovich also bought 2 packs of CellCept for Serezha Nechaev. 14.02.2003 Inhalers (Pary Turbo Boy) worth 15,148 roubles were bought for Katya Reshetnikova and Vova Osokin from the Department of Thoracic Surgery. Twenty vials of Ambisome (total cost 159,179.80 roubles) were bought for Yura Kirillov from the Oncohematology Department. Yura has Burkitt's lymphoma, 4th stage, and aspergillosis. Fifty vials of high-dose cytosar (total cost 41,721.90 roubles) were bought for all patients of the Oncohematology Department. 11.02.2003 Dear friends, We would like to touch upon a very important problem that our friends and benefactors have mentioned. How high is the probability of a positive outcome in children with oncological diseases, children whom these benefactors are helping or planning to help? And where can one find the information about the positive results? Our site publishes information on critically ill children who need expensive medicines that are currently absent at the hospital. The first page of our site is the page of despair, the last attempt to save such children. The health of a child who has recovered from an oncological disease is very unstable. Today he or she may have a remission, but a relapse is possible tomorrow. In addition, many parents are instinctively or superstitiously afraid of mentioning their child's recovery in public. We should not ignore their feelings. At the same time, we can well understand your desire to see not only tragic but also success stories on our site. Sometimes we inform you about the positive outcome of some treatment in the News column. But maybe it would be worthwhile to make a special page telling about children that have recovered. The doctors of the RCCH have promised to provide us with statistical data. We will place it on the site, and then you will really see that your help is not lost in vain, that many children really recover. By the way, this often happens because your donations make a reserve that may be constantly used to urgently buy the necessary medicines for all the children. For the benefactors that can improve the quality of the disabled children's lives, the site often publishes the pleas of the parents whose children need prostheses, hearing aids, or good wheelchairs. These children are also in great need for your help, because the quality of life is no less important than life itself for many of them. 09.02.2003 Pary Turbo Boy, an inhaler worth 7308 roubles, was bought for Alesha Akimov from the Thoracic Department. 07.02.2003 Four packs of Losec (total cost 6612.32 roubles) were bought for Kristina Koshutina. 05.02.2003 An anonymous contributor paid for the NMRT examination of the following children. 04.02.2003 25 vials of Asparaginase Medac (total cost 40,576.76 roubles) were bought for children from the Hematology Ambulance. Caps and masks worth 2425 roubles were bought for Kristina Koshutina and Roma Chapurin. For the radiation treatment of Sveta Datieva, 6489.60 roubles was paid; for Dima Stepanov, 5834.40 roubles. A composite net worth 5130 roubles was bought for Danila Dronov from the Department of Microvascular Surgery. 03.02.2003 Cytosar worth 8797.80 roubles was bought for the Oncohematology Department. Zantac worth 2063.60 roubles was bought for Roma Chapurin from the Marrow Transplantation Department. A total of 12,012.00 roubles was paid for the children's bacterial tests. Losec and Asparaginase (total cost 13,074.59 roubles) were bought for Ira Fandeeva. Twenty vials of Asparaginase (a total of 32,461.41 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 30.01.2003 Six packs of Orungal (total cost 7550.40 roubles) were bought for Roma Chapurin and Kristina Kashutina, who have been transferred to the Marrow Transplantation Department. 03.02.2003 Cytosar worth 8797.80 roubles was bought for the Oncohematology Department. Zantac worth 2063.60 roubles was bought for Roma Chapurin from the Marrow Transplantation Department. A total of 12,012.00 roubles was paid for the children's bacterial tests. Losec and Asparaginase (total cost 13,074.59 roubles) were bought for Ira Fandeeva. Twenty vials of Asparaginase (a total of 32,461.41 roubles) were bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. 30.01.2003 Dear friends, we are no longer raising the funds for Kolya Altynov's treatment. A very important event happened in his life: a friend of Kolya's mother, Frau Helena Tritus, who lives in Germany, has organized a wide-scale fundraising campaign there. Thanks to her efforts, there appeared many publications about Kolya in German newspapers. Anna Sophie Mutter, a well-known German violinist, read one of these articles. With her help and also with the help of Frau Windesch, Baroness von Bismarck, Mstislav Rostropovich, and the Lebensbruecke (Life Bridge) organization, it became possible to arrange Kolya's treatment in one of the leading German University clinics: the one in the town of Gissen (Land Hessen). An outstanding doctor, Prof. Richter, agreed to treat him. Maria Postnikova, an actress and a friend of Anna Sophie Mutter, helped very much with preparing Kolya's documents in Moscow. Kolya and his mother will leave for Germany on Sunday. Dear friends, we thank everybody who provided help and care to Kolya and his relatives for a long time. We will establish a communication with him in Germany as soon as possible and continuously inform you about the Kolya's condition. Let us wish him good health! The leading German doctors admitted that Kolya's treatment in Russia was performed at the highest level possible. Let us hope that his situation in Germany will be the same and even better. Dear friends, On January 22, 2003, a new Oncohematology Department was opened at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital after a long reconstruction. Many wonderful people, united by their concern for the suffering children, came to the ceremony, including some people who helped perform this reconstruction. The doctors first took the guests to the old department, which had accomodated children with oncohematological diseases up to now, and then to the new department. The difference is so vast, as if between two civilizations. The new department is arranged according to European standards. Musicians, exhibitioners of the Rostropovich Foundations and winners of international competitions, came to the opening. They gave a charity concert, which added an unexpected and wonderful note to the serious conversation about problems of child oncology. But everybody was amazed when Kolya Altynov came in with his violin. The young violinist, exhausted by the terrible disease, decided to play Monty's Czardas himself. Kolya did a great work: although he had had no training for half a year, he played wonderfully. M.A. Yakubov, who led the concert, said after Kolya's performance, "Cure our children, and we'll teach them music." After all the performances, the little patients recited verses of congratulation together with their favorite doll doctor, Luka Lukich. And then two cartoon films drawn by the ill children were shown. 28.01.2003 The presentation of the Triumph prize, a Russian independent prize for encouraging the best achievements in literature and art, took place yesterday at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. In addition to prizes given to adults, grants were also organized for the young. Kolya Altynov was one of those who received the prize. Of course, he could not attend the awarding ceremony himself (for reasons that are only too natural), and Lena, his mother, received the prize for him. According to the decision of the jury, each prize is equivalent to 2500 USD. Kolya has also recently received a scholarship from the Russian Performing Art Foundation. 25.01.2003 Dear friends, We have sad news again. Two girls, Katya Putyaikina and Nastya Kurbanova, have a relapse of leukemia. Both have been gravely ill for several years. Katya had aplastic anemia that passed into leukemia. In Nastya's case, one type of leukemia changed for another. We have already told here that the hope of a recovery is faint in such cases. Nevertheless, the parents of both girls and the doctors decided to make a desperate step: marrow transplantation. This was the only possible way of treatment in these circumstances. After the operation, Katya spent a year in an absolutely sterile ward. At first everything went well. The girl read many books, watched video films, made paper dolls of Harry Potter characters. Nastya's transplantation took place without complications; she was discharged from hospital and went home. Their parents hoped for a good outcome. But several days ago the tests showed that both girls again have malignant cells in the bone marrow. In such cases, one usually asks oneself: is such a painful treatment really necessary if the chances are so slight? Olga Ivanova, a Crimean hematologist (who has fallen gravely ill herself), is thinking about these problems with an extreme force and genuine pain in her article entitled "What for?" (http://hematolog.simfi.net/english/we/olga_web.htm): "Sometimes I am asked: 'Is it worth trying to start treatment? Maybe it is better to take him home and let it be, since the tumor is fatal anyway, the child will die a day earlier or a day later. Why inflict extra suffering on him and us?..' My soul always protests against this. It is more than a mere protest. I just 'explode' inside. In despair, this solution may seem to be easier. But we are not God. It is not ours to decide who will live and die. We have no right to shorten a patient's life on this earth. It may be terribly difficult. It may be painful, but hours turn into days, days into months, sometimes even years. A day of life - can it be counted? I do not know where this assurance comes from, but working here as a doctor, I have learned that even a minute of life has its meaning. While a person is alive, his faith in deliverance, his love and hope are alive." Please pray for the two girls, Katya and Nastya, and for Olga Ivanova, the author of the article. A set for the regulation of the Strata valve (24,573.23 roubles) was bought for Dima Brusnitsyn. Cytosar (total cost 15,826.8 roubles) was bought for children from the Oncohematology Department. Consumables worth 2588.80 roubles were bought for the typing tests. A total of 5843.49 roubles was paid for the radiation treatment of Alesha Zubtsov and Bogdan Medjidov. 23.01.2003 Dmitri has paid for the Omaya reservoir to be installed to Said Mamaev. This reservoir was yesterday installed at the Burdenko Institute, and today Said is to go back to the Oncohematology Department of the RCCH. 22.01.2003 IV Zovirax (total cost 9783.84 roubles) was bought for Ira Fandeeva from the Oncohematology Department. Sodium bicarbonate in vials (41,404 roubles) was bought for all children from the Oncohematology Department. 18.01.2003 UnionBilling Webmasters Team Co. transferred 2007 USD for the children's treatment. This money was used to pay for the radiation treatment of 4 children from the Oncohematology Department: Heinrich Petrosyan (9867 roubles), Serezha Pakhmutov (21,434.40 roubles), Misha Parshikov (7800 roubles), and Vitali Zubenko (19,476.60 roubles). To perform typing for children with blood diseases, polymerase worth 2844 roubles was bought. 16.01.2003 Dear friends, We invite you to participate in an important event: a new Oncohematology Department of the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital (Moscow, Leninski pr. 117) will be opened after a major repair on January 22, 2003, 2 p.m. Details... Asparginase Medac worth 16,245.70 roubles was bought for David Khachatryan. His present condition is stable, there is no fever, and Ambisome is not needed so far. The necessary medicines (total cost 18,247 roubles) were bought for Marifat Khamdamova, who spent 6 years at the RCCH and can now go home at last. 14.01.2003 Little Serezha Aksentov died today. He was just a small kid, and, unfortunately, the main things he could learn in his life were illness and pain. He was a wonderful boy, so sweet and charming. In spite of his young age, people were attracted to him and always had kindest feelings toward him. We are whole-heartedly thankful to everybody who helped Serezha. Having learned about his disease, many people not only offered financial aid but also regularly came to the hospital to visit Serezha and his mother Tanya. As often happens at our hospital, Serezha's parents were extremely selfless and courageous. Just as the doctors, they did all things possible to save their child. Now we can only pray for them and hope that God will give them consolation. 04.01.2003 A total of 14 729 roubles was paid for the bacterial tests of all children from hematological departments. 03.01.2003 Dear friends, This year, just as ever, we celebrated New Year at our hospital on December 28. Lots of people helped to prepare the celebration. And we are very thankful to everybody who brought presents for the children or assisted in buying them: Andrei and his friends, Sergei, Vladislav and Tatiana; Kirill and another Kirill; Pavel and his colleagues, Euroservice Co.; Vadim and his friends; Masha and Irina; Anna, Gilead Sciences Co.; Office Premier Co.; Vladimir and "Olddisco friends"; Yulia and Sergei and Doca-Media Co.; the parish of the Stt. Cosma and Damian Church; and many others. Just as ever, we tried to make presents for the children who had to stay in hospital during the New Year holidays. There were many such children this year, including patients with the most grave diseases. They received lovely presents thanks to your generous help, and many of them got from Grandfather Frost just the very things they had wanted. A New Year festival with competitions, songs, puzzles, prizes, and surprises was organized in every department. We thank all the "volunteer" Snow Maidens and Grandfather Frosts, who wonderfully directed the festival: Anya and Zhenya, Larisa and Vadim, Oleg and Asya, and also Sergei and Svetlana, professional actors. Grandfather Frosts and Snow Maidens from Krug, a union of children and grown-ups, participated in the hospital celebrations for the first time. They managed to amuse even the most depressed children with the most severe diseases and to raise not only the children's but also their parents' spirits. All the six Grandfather Frosts and Snow Maidens were accompanied by various musical instruments: violins, sequencers, guitars, and even a trumpet. There was much joy. After them, the circus came to patients with grave diseases. The children and their parents especially liked the conjurer and the trick with white pigeons. Many thanks to Anya for this extraordinary New Year present for the children. In addition, a puppet show with a performance entitled "The Mystery of the New Year Clock" came to the hospital on December 25. And the "Circus-Concert" Creative Center presented the children with tickets for the "Cat in Boots" ice show. Everybody was very glad. One girl who has spent many years at our hospital said that each time the Help Group organizes a New Year celebration, the children have a very special feeling: they believe they are already in their normal, healthy life or will soon return to it. And this feeling is the best reward and joy for us. We congratulate you on the New Year and coming Christmas and again thank everybody for the unselfish help and active support of the children who had to stay at hospital for the New Year. 01.01.2003 Sergei bought 20 vials of Meronem for Tamara Nazarova, a six-year-old girl from the Department of General Hematology. Tamara had septic shock and a respiratory destress syndrome. She got into an intensive card ward, was under artifical lung ventilation, and needed an urgent treatment with antibiotics. Now she feels much better and has been transferred back from the intensive care ward to her department, although the antibacterial treatment is still going on. Elena and Mikhail bought three packs of Glevec for Serezha Papkov. Serezha will arrive in Moscow on January 8 and will at last start a course of treatment with this new medicine. He will undergo a cytogenetic test after 4 months, and the results will show if the medicine is efficient. If the dynamics proves to be positive, the therapy will go on. If not, only marrow transplantation remains. Thirty vials of Asparginase Medac (total cost 48 737.11 roubles) were bought for Ira Fandeeva and other children from the Oncohematology Department. Ten vials of Meronem were bought for Tamara Nazarova. Hydrea worth 31 923.54 roubles was bought for Kolya Altynov. A set of laryngoscopes worth 14 305.50 roubles was bought for the 2nd intensive care ward. A set of laryngoscopes worth 51 309.06 roubles was bought for the 1st intensive care ward. |
24.03.2003 Dear friends,
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