Cancer Kids Ukraine

Oleg is a tough cookie. He is very asocial. He doesn’t want to communicate with anyone. His grandmother, who is staying at the hospital with Oleg, invited me to meet her grandson. When I entered his room, a saw a boy sitting on his bed. Oleg has only one leg. “Hi. I came to see you. My name is Anna. What’s your name?” I ask. Oleg keeps silent and looks at me frowningly. I decide to joke, “I guess you are deaf-mute. But I don’t know the sign language. So, what do we have to do now?” He still keeps silent. “Do you know Yogi? You are sitting like a real yogi. Maybe, you are double jointed?” Silence. Oleg’s grandmother feels uncomfortable and tries to make Oleg talk. But he refuses to communicate with me. He is still sitting with a mask of indifference on his face. “Would you like me to buy you a treat? Just tell me what you want. I will buy anything for you.” Silence.

“Would you like a toy?” Silence. “Would you like a DVD-player?” Silence. “And what would you like?” Finally, Oleg answers, “A laptop.” “Maybe you would still like a DVD-player? Laptops are very expensive. I can’t promise to give it to you.” “No. Either a laptop or nothing at all,” said Oleg and lost any interest in me.

He had to endure a lot of hardships during the last year, including the cancer treatment, amputation of his leg, and indifference of his father. Not every 9-year-old boy will be able to stay cheerful in this situation. Last spring, Oleg’s leg got sore and swollen. They took him to the orthopedist, who put a cast on his leg. But the pain was getting unbearable. The painkillers didn’t help. His mother took a cast off his leg. But the surgeon put it back on. Besides, he prescribed the thermal procedures, which were contraindicative. Finally, Oleg was referred to the Cancer Institute in Kiev. It took the doctors a month to diagnoze him. Then there were three chemotherapies and amputation of the leg above the knee. In May, 2009 he had a surgery done: they removed the metastases from his left lung. He still needs a bone marrow transplantation and several blocks of chemotherapy. The diagnosis Oleg has is not rare. Several children registered on our website have the same diagnosis. However, this boy is very unusual. He is avoidant. People like him have very difficult times adjusting to new conditions. But Oleg has to realize that he will never be like the rest of the children. He has to learn how to live the way he is right now – with one leg. Oleg’s mother is on a maternity leave with a 3-year-old daughter. His father was a laborer at the poultry processing plant. But he got laid off. Then he had temporal jobs here and there. He was also asking people for money saying that he needed it for Oleg’s treatment. Unfortunately, he mismanaged that money and Oleg never got it. The only income this family has is Oleg’s disability allowance and his grandmother’s pension check.

You can reach Oleg’s mother Marina at +38 096 237 78 45 or his grandmother Karatnyuk Alexandra at +38 098 537 19 45

This family does not have a bank account in US dollars. The only available option for them to receive your help is Western Union. You may contact us for more information.