Newsletter August 2007

Children’s Hospice

Dear friends:

We are grateful for your attention to Children's Hospice. Your support is vitally important for us and our patients.

The summer has come to its end. It seems, as if not so long ago our patients went to sanatoria and summer resorts. And now they already call us, share their impressions, and show photos. As the majority of our patients returned home by the end of summer, we tried to make this month joyful, interesting and saturated as much as possible.

We continued to organize trips to the Botanical Gardens of St. Petersburg. Children, whose lives exist between hospital and home, love nature very much. They are able to see the value of things which are ordinary for us: beautiful flowers, greenery, the harmony of a garden created by the hands of gardeners.

In August, thanks to friends of Children's Hospice, we could present our children with unforgettable impressions of riding a horse. The hippotherapy is a unique experience of close unity with another live being, an experience of hearing and feeling a horse. Masha D., Nastya K., Elmira K., Marina G., Ksysha I., Yura Y., and Roma T. were in raptures, even though some of them were at first afraid of the horses.

Nastya I. moves with a wheelchair since her childhood. However, she has always had a wish to experience what it is like to go fishing. We helped her wish come true. Nastya had an opportunity to angle a fish and to take part in preparing a shashlik (pieces of mutton roasted on a spit).

We also fulfilled a dream of Anya K., a girl, who is in a very severe condition now. She wished to have a laptop very much in order to be busy, even when she feels unwell and lies in bed.

Her other wish was to receive a German Shepherd puppy. We fulfilled her wish with great pleasure. A small, clumsy, and funny puppy touched Anya and her family to tears. Now Anya won’t feel herself so alone at home. We hope that the appearance of a being, who needs her, will give her strength to fight her disease.

Another laptop was presented to Sasha S. This girl has a very clear head. She is nice and kind and, at the same time, very strong. She writes beautiful poetry. Reading her poems, one would never believe that she spends most of the day in bed and that the world opens itself to her only through a small window into the house yard as well as during friends’ visits. We presented Sasha with an Internet connection so that she would be able to communicate with virtual friends. Now Sasha can receive responses and comments to her poems and mix with other poets and writers in the Internet.

In August we organized an excursion to a planetarium. Many children wanted to look at planets and at outer space, to learn what the planets and stars which surround Earth are called, and why. We are glad that we were able to fulfill their wishes.

Cirill B. visited the Zoological Gardens of St. Petersburg in August. Cirill had been to the zoo a very long time ago and after the excursion in the neighboring planetarium he wanted to look at animals as well.

We have many children who also love animals. However, many of them are not able to visit a zoo due to their health condition. Such children are visited by a little but real zoo at home. Its animals are kind and well looked after and a child can play with them, stroke and feed them. This month the zoo visited our senior patients.

Besides, we organized excursions in the Museum of Dolls and in the Railway Museum.

The Museum of Dolls is our old friend. We often go to them and visit not only basic expositions but also thematic exhibitions.

Children liked the Railway Museum very much. Old steam engines, interior of carriages, history of railway development in Russia evoked great interest and aroused many questions.

One of the most interesting museums is the Museum of Water. Children plunged into the world of the most important substance for our life – water. A fast elevator and a modern lifter made the excursion accessible also for children in wheelchairs. It was pleasant to gather all together once again. After the excursion we arranged a festive dinner for children and their parents.

We carried on our work in the Leningrad Oblast (region). We took in our charge 25 more children. Vasily K. was presented with a wheelchair. Masha S. received an electric muscular stimulator in order to enable regular sessions of physiotherapy for her.

The work of our medical teams in the Leningrad Oblast is managed by the Medical Director of Children’s Hospice - Evgeny V. Chistjakov. Evgeny has been working at Children's Hospice for not so long, but he has already won the confidence of our patients and their families. His excellent education and military training help him organize the medical practice of Children's hospice. Evgeny managed to structure and to regulate the work of the medical service of Children's Hospice.

We invite everyone who’d like to stand with us to cooperate. We will be glad for any of your help and support.

We have not shared some big news with you but we have shared the things with which we live, the joys and sorrows of the children being cared for by the Hospice. If what you have read has evoked a response in your soul, please share it with your friends and resend our newsletter to them.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Detski Hospis / Children’s Hospice, August 2007