Rised:

2024 year: 926 146 ₴
13 years: 57 261 989 ₴

Vice is not a sentence





COLLECTED 101 757 hryvnias. OCCLUDER PAID. OPERATED.

Three-year-old Maxim Sherstyak will be saved by heart surgery.

Maxim Sherstyak has a congenital heart defect - a hole in the interventricular septum. The red-haired blue-eyed Maxim is agile, active, likes to count and dance, he calls himself a "man". However, this well-being is deceptive, and there is a serious danger behind it. A recent examination showed that the defect in the heart has already reached a large size and continues to grow. Urgent surgery is needed, otherwise irreparable damage may occur.


Maxim is the first and long-awaited child in the Sherstyak family.

- The son, of course, was very much expected, - recalls his mother, Larissa. - My birth started a little earlier. Maxim was born with a small weight, and on the second day after birth, Maxim was diagnosed with jaundice. Fortunately, everything went well. In a month and a half we were sent for a routine ultrasound of the heart, now all the kids are doing. It turned out that the son had a small hole in his heart, 2 mm. Doctors assured that this often happens, it’s okay, it should heal by the year.

And the parents did not worry, besides Maxim did not give reasons: he was gaining weight, developed well, almost did not get sick.
But contrary to the forecasts of doctors, by the year the hole did not close, but increased, which showed another scheduled ultrasound. The cardiologist diagnosed Maxim with a congenital heart defect, a defect of the interventricular septum, recommended to be observed further and prescribed medication to maintain heart tone.

"I never would have thought that Maxim had a heart defect," sighs Larissa. - I am very scared, because the disease has no external manifestations. Maxim grows up active, cheerful, leads the house and plays with cars. Meanwhile, the threat is growing…

Larissa decided to consult another clinic. On the recommendation of acquaintances, went for an examination at the Kiev Heart Institute. The doctors of the Institute immediately instilled confidence in her with their attentive attitude. After the examination, the doctor said that the situation is not an emergency, you can observe the dynamics for several months.

And the Sherstyak family decided that if Maxim still had to have surgery, it would be at the Heart Institute.

Unfortunately, the dynamics turned out to be negative: last fall another ultrasound showed that the hole increased by a few millimeters. Now the doctors had no doubt that surgery was needed.

"The boy’s heart is enlarged, it works with overload, the size of the defect becomes larger, it is necessary to operate urgently," the cardiologist told his mother after the examination.

The defect can be eliminated in a gentle, endovascular way, without opening the chest: through a puncture in the femoral artery with a catheter will deliver an occluder, which will close the defect.
The operation itself will be carried out at public expense, but you have to pay for a special expensive "patch" - an occluder. There is no such money in the Sherstyak family. Maxim’s father works as a storekeeper and receives a salary of 4,000 hryvnias, and his mother stays at home with her son because he needs to take medication to maintain his heart tone. Maxim is not taken to the kindergarten because of the diagnosis.

There is no way to wait for the quota to be obtained: the boy’s heart may not survive. But Maxim’s family believes in the best. It is only necessary to have time to collect the necessary amount. The baby’s future is in our hands. We will help, and the boy will be able to fulfill many of his dreams.

"Our child is growing, and so is our heart." Just to wait for the operation, just to wait! - repeats Larisa…

Author Roman Betsenko
Photo Denis Zagorsky

Head of the Department of Endovascular Surgery of the Heart Institute Andrei Khokhlov (Kiev):
“Maxim Sherstyak has a congenital heart defect. Given the topic of the defect and the general condition of the boy, he needs to carry out endovascular closure of the defect of the interventricular septum with a special spiral - occluder. This will stop the development of dangerous complications. The boy will be healthy. "

The cost of the occluder is UAH 101,757.

Dear friends!
If you decide to help Maxim Sherstyak, don’t be embarrassed by the price of salvation. Any of your donations will be gratefully accepted. All the necessary details are in the Fund.
You can also use our electronic payment system by making a donation from a bank card or electronic cash, including from abroad.

03/02/2017

Responded (took the details): 26 people Helped
: 26 people
Collected: UAH 101,757

04/28/2017
At the Heart Institute (Kiev), Maxim Sherstyak was successfully operated on. Ventricular septal defect was closed endovascularly, using a special device - an occluder. The work of the heart and circulatory system is restored. The boy is feeling well, already on Monday, he was at home with his parents! Maxim’s parents thank Ufond readers for their help. Accept our gratitude friends! We will definitely follow the fate of the boy.