Kyrylo was born at the 30th week of pregnancy. His weight was only 1 kilogram 150 grams. He required resuscitation, an incubator, and respiratory support. Doctors considered the first weeks of his life critical. The young mother from Mykolaiv was told directly: she needed to pray! 

He survived, but the doctors diagnosed cerebral palsy with many complications. Kateryna and Mykola were told to prepare to treat their son for life. And they added: “He will not walk!”

“My life then split into ‘before’ and ‘after,’” Kateryna recalls. “I felt as if I had woken up in a different reality.”

Years of hospitals and rehabilitation began. The parents searched for different methods: Ukrainian, foreign.  They tried everything to help their son stand on his feet.
Then the war broke out. Shelling of Mykolaiv began.  Therapy and rehabilitation stopped. The family hid in a basement for three weeks. This meant regression for a child with cerebral palsy.  His body literally became “stone”. Kateryna saw the progress of years disappear within a week.

The family decided to evacuate to Poland. There, they received some medical support, but it was also in Poland that Kyrylo faced severe bullying. Local educators were against Kyrylo studying in a regular school. Even worse, they humiliated him in front of the whole class, drawing the attention of other children to Kyrylo’s developmental differences. Kateryna took her son out of school and went back to Ukraine!

And it was at home that something happened which even the doctors had not believed possible until recently. Kyrylo began to make remarkable progress!  The parents raised funds for a complex and risky spinal surgery in the USA. They contacted foundations, social networks, and all possible organizations asking for financial help.

Part of the funds for treatment and rehabilitation was covered by the football club Shakhtar. The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation soon began providing support as well. And finally, the moment they had been waiting for ten years came.

One day Kyrylo said: “Mom, I learned to stand by myself!”

Today the boy studies in a regular school and learns languages. He is interested in computer technologies. The doctors who had previously advised the parents against surgery were shocked by the results!  Kyrylo took his first steps!

At the time of this interview, ten-year-old Kyrylo had partial optic nerve atrophy. The parents are again searching for clinics and specialists. But now they know for sure: one must never give up.

“We were told the child would never walk. Such words must not be believed. One must believe in one’s children. Small steps must be taken toward victory. Because miracles happen.”