Book of consolations
Big overload
This girl got a life. Her name is Dasha. She is 11 years old. When Dasha was four years old, her father died of a serious illness. She barely recovered from this loss. The shock was so severe that the girl has been ill ever since. Her childish heart failed and failed. Doctors said it was called an atrial septal defect. Dasha’s heart has increased in size and works with great overloads. It is difficult for him to endure so many childhood experiences. Surgery can save. Svetlana Khisamova, a journalist and program coordinator of the Ukrainian Relief Fund, a popular Ukrainian pop singer, Alexander Pavlik, talks about Dasha Stasiuk.
This girl got a life. Her name is Dasha. She is 11 years old. When Dasha was four years old, her father died of a serious illness. She barely recovered from this loss. The shock was so severe that the girl has been ill ever since. Her childish heart failed and failed. Doctors said it was called an atrial septal defect. Dasha’s heart has increased in size and works with great overloads. It is difficult for him to endure so many childhood experiences. Surgery can save. Svetlana Khisamova, a journalist and program coordinator of the Ukrainian Relief Fund, a popular Ukrainian pop singer, Alexander Pavlik, talks about Dasha Stasiuk.
- Have you ever encountered such a diagnosis?
- No, this is the first time I’ve heard of a disease like Dasha’s. It is very difficult to realize that this fragile girl has had so many difficult trials. Now there is also heart surgery. This is a test for everyone. For a child, I think, twice as much.
- You know, band surgery with severe anesthesia, a scalpel and scars can be avoided. Dasha can have a gentle operation - endovascular. Have you heard of such?
"No, I haven’t heard." That’s great. Our Kiev cardiologists have a good school and extensive experience in this field. Several clinics are known throughout the post-Soviet space for their complex heart surgeries. So for Dasha everything should go well. If it is possible to avoid major surgery, what prevents you from doing so?
- Lack of money interferes. It is possible to do heart surgery on a quota basis, but the family will have to buy an occluder on their own. For Dasha’s mother, this is an unaffordable sum. Whose problem do you think it is - the state, society or the family?
- The child’s health is always a problem of parents, his closest relatives. But I believe that the state and society should not be left out. I don’t think it’s difficult. As an artist, he is ready to help in any way he can, finally gather a group of his fellow musicians and go on tour to earn the missing amount. If the child’s health depends on the availability of money - this is a solvable task. You just have to take it and help.
- You know, it always amazes me how children - big and small - can be patient with pain. Dasha is ten, and she spends most of her life with doctors. How do children manage to be stronger than adults?
"It’s hard for me to even think about it." It seems to me that the divine reserve is hidden in children, which people waste as they grow older. Children in general are very adaptable - they quickly adapt to all changes, more easily tolerate shocks. This protects their weakened body from many trials. I sincerely wish Dasha a speedy recovery.