ROSLYN, N.Y. — A baby who couldn’t get critically-needed surgical procedure in war-torn Ukraine has gotten the present of life from docs on Long Island.
Friday, she thanked the group that made it potential, CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported.
Polina Shchepaniak is simply 9 years outdated and might lastly return to child stuff.
“I’m superb,” Polina mentioned. “5 days, I’m very quick operating and I prefer it.”
For so long as Polina can bear in mind, life has been restricted resulting from a harmful coronary heart defect. A gap between the 2 higher chambers of her coronary heart triggered fixed shortness of breath and fatigue.
Life-altering surgical procedure turned not possible when the conflict broke out.
“She was truly scheduled for surgical procedure in March in Ukraine, however due to the bombings and the air raids, they cannot threat it as a result of energy would shut down and you’ll lose the affected person,” mentioned Harry Miller with Reward of Life.
“It is a progressive kind of lesion. So, initially, they’re drained, they do not develop nicely,” mentioned Dr. Sean Levchuck, chair of pediatric cardiology at St. Francis Hospital. “As they strategy the grownup years, the arrhythmias and the guts failure begins.”
“I say ‘Polina, do not run. Cease Polina, sit please,’ and he or she mentioned, ‘Why? I wish to be like all youngsters,'” mentioned Polina’s mother Kateryna Shchepaniak.
Because of Reward of Life, which began at St. Francis Hospital to advertise world peace, Polina can have a protracted, wholesome life forward.
“Daily you make miracles for kids and for his or her mother and father,” Shchepaniak mentioned.
The nonprofit introduced Polina and her mother from Ukraine. Wednesday, docs plugged the outlet in her coronary heart in a noninvasive process.
Polina is the primary Reward of Life affected person at St. Francis in three years as a result of pandemic.
“This surgical procedure, it is for me, so cool,” Polina mentioned.
The help was additional emotional for Levchuck, who’s of Ukrainian descent and has saved a whole bunch of kids.
“It is fairly particular,” Levchuck mentioned.
After follow-up visits at St. Francis, Polina will return to Ukraine with a plug in her coronary heart and gratitude to final a lifetime.
Reward of Life has helped greater than 43,000 youngsters from 80 international locations.
Every year, greater than 1.3 million youngsters are born with coronary heart defects and greater than 90 p.c are born in international locations the place they do not have entry to state-of-the-art medical care that may change their lives.
