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Support for Andrew





122,050 hryvnias were collected. Metal construction-implant paid. OPERATED.

Andriy Shchennikov will be saved by spinal surgery.

Andrew is 16 years old, he lives in Melitopol with his parents. The boy is progressing curvature of the spine, scoliosis has already reached the most severe, 4th degree. His heart and lungs are constricted, it is difficult for Andriy to breathe on his full chest, he suffers from back pain, migraine attacks and dizziness have become more frequent recently, up to unconsciousness. The operation will help to relieve Andriy of torments - the installation of a special metal structure-implant, which will fix the spine in the correct position. But such a construction costs more than 120 thousand hryvnias. For the boy’s parents, the amount is unaffordable. All home savings are spent on long-term treatment, hoping to avoid surgery .

Andrew lives with his parents in the city of Melitopol, in the south of Zaporozhye region. According to his mother, Andriy is a very purposeful and intelligent child. Modest, always comes to the aid of friends, neighbors, likes to collect computers, repair motorcycles and cars with friends. His favorite activities help him the most to distract from back pain. Andrew is a very smart and purposeful guy, with a strong character and one big dream - to be healthy. This is just a dream, more like Andriy’s parents, and for him it is a goal.

The boy loves to do everything with his own hands, so his biggest dream is to enter a technical university after school and study to become a mechanical engineer to do his favorite thing.

- Andrew was a sick child from an early age, - says Elena, the boy’s mother. He was holding his breath as he cried. He often and severely suffered from various viral diseases. But all this he outgrew and was quite an ordinary child. He was engaged in gymnastics, boxing, wrestling. But from an early age he was found to have a scoliotic posture.

Parents regularly visited doctors, repeatedly visited both surgeons and orthopedists. Doctors referred for massages, exercise therapy and said that if scoliosis progressed, the boy would not be able to walk. And then Andrew’s dreams will not come true.

- We did everything as the doctors said. They are doctors. We believed them. The situation did not get worse, the back was visually straight, - says Andrew’s mother. - We were happy about it. And did not worry. At some point, you know how it is when everyone goes on summer vacation, and the boys then come to mind higher than it was before the holidays. So Andrew grew 15 cm in 3 months, but the muscles were not ready for that. They did not hold back. After that, the uneven posture turned into a curvature of the spine, and it became noticeable to the naked eye. And again - doctors.

Melitopol, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv and Lviv. Specialists everywhere gave various recommendations to Andrew’s parents. Some of them said that massage and gymnastics would be enough. Others advised to wear a corset. Others, who were strongly opposed to the corset, said wearing it would make it worse. While the body grows, you can do without it. The boy’s parents simply did not know what to do. It looks like the doctors themselves…

- Not understanding what measures had to be taken, we began to actively engage in massage and therapeutic gymnastics, - says Elena. - And at times it even got better. At least visually. But it is short-lived. Over time, the child became difficult to sit, it was easier to lie down. Long walks were not easy. We seemed to be stomping on the ground.

After another growth spurt, the distortion increased even more. Andrew had a hump on his back. And doctors still could not agree on a corset. The situation with his back continued to deteriorate and affected Andrew’s health in general.
"It was hard for me to breathe," says Andriy, holding a voltage meter in his hand. - It has become almost impossible for me to walk for a long time and move actively. If before, it was difficult for me to sit for a long time, now it is uncomfortable to lie down. The head began to ache often, the pain in the heart area became more frequent, and I am generally silent about the fact that my back hurts constantly now. Even your favorite activities no longer help to distract from the pain.

This year, parents were advised to contact the University Clinic of Kharkiv National Medical University. After a complete examination by an orthopedic surgeon, Andriy was diagnosed with idiopathic right-sided thoracic scoliosis of the 4th degree, and was told that no treatment would help, only urgent surgery.

Surgery, which doctors are going to perform Andrew, will not only stop the progression of the boy’s disease, but also significantly correct the distortion, eliminate the cosmetic defect, which will have a beneficial effect on the body and allow the child to lead a life like all his peers.

- When I first heard about the operation, I shed tears, - says Andrew. - It would seem that the boys are not crying, but I was really scared. This is a complex multi-stage operation, I will have a metal structure inserted… It was a shock for me. But as time went on, I thought it over and understood a lot. Yes, the operation is complicated and it takes a long time to recover from it, but it will be easier to live later. I will be able to continue doing my favorite thing, go to my dreams, easily repair cars and motorcycles, help my mother around the house and babysit with her favorite nephews, without pain and constant breaks for rest.

Is the words of the future husband true? He who has found courage in himself, who has a goal, has a dream and it is a support. Good luck to Andriy. There will be no hump. There will be no pain. And you can do your favorite thing. And the lungs will breathe and the heart will work properly. And life will play with bright colors, and you and I will help him in this. Really ?!

Author Roman Betsenko
Photo from the personal archive of the family

Head of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology NUMK "University Clinic" Kharkiv National Medical University Dmitry Petrenko (Kharkov):"Andrew has idiopathic (of unknown origin) thoracolumbar scoliosis of the 4th degree. Recently, the boy’s condition has deteriorated sharply, the deformity of the spine is progressing, increased pain in the chest and back, increasing shortness of breath. Cardiopulmonary insufficiency began to progress. The boy should be treated immediately with a metal implant. This method is the most gentle, which allows you to maintain the mobility of the spine. After a period of adaptation and rehabilitation, Andrew will be able to live a full life, forgetting about his illness.

The cost of the metal structure-implant is 122,050 hryvnias.

Dear friends! If you decide to help
Andriy Shchennikov, don’t be embarrassed by the price of salvation. Any of your donations will be gratefully accepted. Money can be transferred by sendingSMS with the word GOOD to the number ####. The cost of SMS messages is 9 hryvnias. You can send a donation by bank transfer to the Fund. All the necessary details are in the fund and on the website. You can use our electronic payment system by making a donation from a bank card or electronic cash, including from abroad. Also, transfer Andrew ’s help with the help of a peer-to-peer payment system by transferring bitcoins to the Fund’s wallet: 1UFondJDKbYMgVhWsyijyvJoWEGWPggNp.

Responded (took details): 1 person
Helped: 1 person
Collected: 122 050 UAH

21.04.2022
Andr
Shchennikov was successfully operated on at the Center for Mothers and Children named after Professor Rudnev. This correction of the curvature of the spine with the help of an implant, which allowed to completely correct the deformation of the spine. After the rehabilitation period, Andriy will return to his normal life, will study and strive for dreams. In a year, no one will even see that the boy had surgery. Olena , Andriy ’s mother , thanks the Ufond partners for their help and saving her son’s life! Accept our gratitude, friends! We are glad that together with you , even in such a difficult time for all of us, we were able to help another child and we will definitely follow the fate of the boy.