Meet Igor and Galina: “If not for Chernobyl Children International’s Community Care program, I would have had to choose between my dying husband and my dying child.” “My husband and I waited so long to have a child. The day Igor was born was full of joy. We named him after my husband. He was a healthy baby. “ “But one day I walked into his room and he had turned blue. He was without oxygen for 43 minutes. He had to stay in the hospital for the first two years of his life.” “But after two years, we were able to bring him home. The doctors insisted that we put him in an orphanage -- but of course my husband and I refused. My husband worked, and I stayed at home with Igor. I took in accounting jobs to help pay the bills. And my husband helped me care for Igor anytime he was not at work. It was difficult but we worked hard and got by. CCI’s massage therapist helped us correct painful deformities Igor had of his feet and mouth from his time in the hospital. ” As Galina tells us her story, the room fills with sound of six year old Igor’s labored breathing. She must stop every few minutes to suction his throat and nasal passages. Squeezed into the tiny room where they live and sleep, is a desk where Galina works from home. “Even after my husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and through his surgeries, he still helped me care for Igor. And Igor needs so much care! He has a tracheotomy and he needs constant suctioning so that he can breathe. He needs to be fed through a tube. He can’t even close his eyes on his own, and needs special lenses.” “Igor cried so hard when his father was taken away. He just died, on our 14th wedding anniversary. I miss him. He was so brave.” “Were it not for Chernobyl Children International’s hospice program, I would have had to choose between my dying husband and my dying child. But they sent me a qualified nurse three times a week to care for Igor so I could be with my husband during his final days.” “Papa is our savior . . . Papa is with you,” Galina murmurs to Igor. “We are lucky. Not every mother has a father looking over her son from heaven.” Please support our Community Care program with your donation at chernobyl-international (Photos by Alex Kladoff)
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 14:30:00 +0000