Nwesletter, March 2009

Dear friends:

We are glad to greet you again on these pages of our bulletin. March has been full of events, joyful and sad ones.

One of the best news of the month is the improving health conditions of a 3-years-old boy Sasha P. When we took the child under our care, he was so weakened after the treatment that he was not able to walk, and he was fed through a tube.

First of all we assigned a social teacher and a defectologist to his care. We provided the parents with medical counseling on caring for the child. Thanks to efforts of doctors and parents, Sasha feels better now. He is now trying to walk by himself. He can eat and play by himself, and he is now able to interact with other people.

Christina C. had undergone bone marrow transplantation, which was very hard on her. However, Christina’s condition had stabilized after some time and she even started to walk. Unfortunately, the improvement was short-lived and Christina’s condition worsened again.

Misha was hospitalized with increasing cordial-pulmonary deficiency and he passed away due to the progression of his disease. While he was being treated, a Hospice nurse visited the boy every day. She treated his swellings to alleviate his suffering.

Pasha M. passed away. He was one of our recent patients, and we could not do much for him due to the lack of time.
In March we lost Juri Y. and Alyona M. as well.

We express our sorrow to their relatives. We will always remember Yura, Alyona, Pasha, and Misha.

This month the Children's Hospice nurses took a training course to refresh their current expertise and to further their qualifications. Our nurses Polina, Irina and Anna are irreplaceable experts who are not only able to provide medical aid, but also to support parents and entertain the children.

As always many different activities have been arranged for children.

One of the most memorable events was the circus show of Brothers Zapashny «Camelot». It was the rare case when absolutely everyone - both children and parents – liked the show. Thanks to the show managers, our children had the opportunity to attend the show every day for a whole week.

Some children visited the restaurant «Two chopsticks» and attended a seminar on making sushi. The children were very interested in trying their hands on being a sushi chef. Making sushi was no easy task, but the restaurant employees were very attentive and good-humored. The children had a lot of fun in the sushi making seminar.
For one evening the children's branch of Scientific Research Institute of Oncology (SRIO) turned into a real beauty salon. All interested children and their mothers could get their hair cut or their make-up done. Words cannot express how happy this action made the mothers. People tend to want change when Spring arrives. Children were very pleased to see how their mothers got their new pretty looks and gleaming eyes.

Several days later clowns visited the children. They arranged a real fun party with many practical jokes and competitions.

The children visited the Loft Project “Floors” for the second time. This time, they saw a trained dog show. The animals turned out to be so friendly and tender that after the performance the children were allowed to approach them and play with the four-footed actors.
Many children had a lot of fun at the concert of the band “Ranetki.” They received some small gifts from the band members as souvenirs.

The children enjoyed the Ice show "Nutcracker" very much. This fairy tale show is traditionally performed in Russia in New Year's holiday, however this story about love, fidelity and self-sacrifice holds true at any time of the year.

From the 6th to the 8th of March, participants of the studio "Yes" (with our children among them) went to the International Finnish Film Festival «Videotivoli» in Tampere, Finland. The studio of children's animation "YES" is a group of volunteers who provide animation trainings for patients of the Children's Hospice and of the children's branches of oncological hospitals.
In the children's program of the festival three cartoon films of this studio were presented: "Island" and “They are already here” by the group in SRIO and « Flying animals » by a group at hospital No 31.

Special thanks to several volunteers from studio "Yes" who visited Yura in the last months of his life, made a cartoon film with him, supported him and distracted him from pain.

We would like to talk about Yura separately. This boy left a deep mark in our memory through his life, his courage in the struggle against his illness, his cordiality and heartfeltness. Yura and his mother became very close to us.

Yura felt very poorly in his last days. A Children's Hospice nurse visited him daily. Our doctors tried to choose a more effective pain management technique. Yura died, but he remained with us. He left photos and a cartoon film which he made despite the pain he was in. He left many lucid and wonderful memories in his friends and the people who had the fortune to get to know him.

In this issue of our newsletter we would like to tell you about the defectologist of the Children's Hospice, Elvira V’alkova. One of the most wonderful qualities of Elvira is the skill to find a common language with children, even with those who avoid any contact and are very timid. In her lesson she teaches the children in a laid-back and interesting way all that things they were not able to learn due to their illnesses and frequent hospitalizations. Parents can always count on her clear and detailed recommendations and advice in choosing developmental games and exercises. She never refuses to advise her Hospice colleagues either. Very often her observations on the abilities and attributes of a child are vital in the effort to provide care for him/her.
We shared our little successes and achievements with you and told you about things our employees face every day. We hope that what you have read touches both your heart and your soul. Please share this joy with your friends and pass this newsletter on to some of them. If any questions arise, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to hear from you.

Yours faithfully,

Fr. Alexander Tkachenko, Children’s Hospice, March 2009
Detski Hospis/Children’s Hospice