Another Grisha's photo

Hello!
My name is Anna Grigorievna. I am Grigory Bakhvalov's grandmother. He is 5 years old. He got sick on March 1, 2009. For two weeks, he had high fever of 40C that had no obvious reasons. At the middle of April, it reached 41C and would not go down.
Grigory had a blood tests and an x-ray and on April 1 he was hospitalized at Children's hospital No.1 with a diagnosis of acute leukemia. I bring Grisha up together with his father. Grisha's mom does not live with us. His father did not have a job for a long time. Although Grisha receives a disability pension, we are still in a very difficult financial situation.
We are now at the hospital, and Grisha has many complications after getting sick with flu and getting infected with fungal infection due to compromised immune system.
We are very grateful to Dima, Advita Fund's volunteer. He helps and supports us. We would also like to thank the girls: Tanya, Ira and everyone who knows us.

Gratefully,
Grisha's grandmother
Contact phone:
+7 (961) 808-68-20

Update as of January 28, 2010. Grisha was discharged for maintenance therapy, and he has been at home for 10 days already. Once a week he comes to the hospital for tests and an injection of Methotrexate. He takes Purinethol at home.
One every 6 weeks, Grisha needs to receive short courses of maintenance therapy (re-inductions). The next one will be at the end of February.
Since Grisha had some neurological complications after chemotherapy, he undergoes special therapy prior to re-inductions, so his family still needs financial support with buying medications.
His grandmother is very grateful to all Grisha's supporters who paid for his medications.

Update as of February 17, 2010. Grisha comes to Children's hospital No.1 for tests and Methotrexate injection once a week. He likes the visits because he sees his friends there and they play together in the hallways. The last test results showed low leukocyte count, so Grisha is now receiving a half-dose of maintenance therapy. The boy lost weight and eats very little due to chemotherapy.
On February 24th he will come for the first cycle of re-induction. Grisha's family is in a difficult financial situation. His father is actively looking for a job, but unsuccessfully so far. The family lives on Grisha's grandmother's salary who works as a nurse plus Grisha's disability pension.
If someone could help with finding employment for Aleksey, Grisha's father, it would have been great help! He can work as a plumber, auto mechanic or perform other kinds of blue collar work.

Update as of March 10, 2010. Grisha completed re-induction with complications. Despite his pre-treatment with neuroprotectors, he still developed severe Vincristine-related neuropathy: gastroparesis, throat spasms and muscle pains. The boy was in much pain and was on painkillers around the clock. The doctors decided to cancel second injection of Vincristine.
Grisha is now at home where he is finishing Dexamethasone therapy, but still needs painkillers at night.

Update as of May 24, 2010. Based on recommendation from a neuropathologist, Grisha's re-induction was postponed. He is now on maintenance therapy with 6MP and Purinethol. Grisha has no appetite, so he does not eat much and lost weight. The neurologist prescribed homeopathic preparations to improve appetite.
Grisha's grandmother is now at the hospital: she had drastic blood pressure jumps and had heart pains, but she feels better now. Grisha's grandmother asked us to thank everyone who is helping them.

Update as of August 30, 2010. Due to muscle pains, second injection of Vincristine was canceled. Grisha is still at the hospital. His father lost his job again and the family needs help with buying current medications.

Update as of October 30, 2010. Grisha is now at the hospital. Due to intolerance of Vincristine, he was taken off of it, and chemotherapy will include Dexamethasone, Methotrexate and Purinethol. He now feels better and can walk more, but his vision dropped drastically. Grisha needs glasses.
His grandmother is asking for help with buying them and for living expenses, as the family's financial situation is still dire.

Update as of November 24, 2010. After the consultation with colleagues from Moscow the decision was made to double the time intervals between re-inductions based on the intolerance to Vincristine. Currently Grisha feels good, he is happy and plays, even though a few days ago he was not feeling well: the blood pressure rose, he had nosebleeds, and did not let the neurologist examine him. Now the blood counts are normal, leukocytes were a little high, but now everything is normal. Unfortunately, Grisha does not eat at all and lost lots of weight.
On Monday, November 29th, Grisha will have a consultation with an optometrist because of the sharp loss of vision.

Update as of December 29, 2010. The last re-induction with vincristine should be finished on Friday, according to the plan. The previous re-induction had to be missed because of an allergic reaction. Grisha feels good during the day: he plays and talks to other kids, but in the evenings he has strong headaches. I really appreciate help with medications as I would not have been able to buy them myself.
Grisha's grandmother

Update as of January 17, 2011. Grisha's vision worsened after another re-induction. The ophthalmologist recommended keeping his eye closed for 2-3 hours a day. Grisha urgently needs special glasses that cost 4,500 rubles. Please help with buying these glasses.
Grisha's grandmother

Update as of February 28, 2011. On February 22 Grisha completed a re-induction that he tolerated much better. He got appetite and his mood improved. In January Grisha got temporary glasses and in the future he will need permanent glasses. His grandmother is asking for help with buying them. A consultation with an ophthalmologist is scheduled for April.

Update as of March 28, 2011. Grisha's maintenance chemotherapy is continuing. He will also visit an ophthalmologist on April 11 to get new glasses.

Update as of May 29, 2011. Grisha is now at a sanatorium feeling very well.
Grisha's grandmother

Update as of October 22, 2011. Grisha feels well, although he catches colds often. In addition, he has to take anti-histamines constantly. Grisha started 1st grade and he receives individual lessons. Grisha tries very hard, although it is difficult for him to write due to issues with vision. His teacher even brought in old materials where the letters were printed in bold characters so Grisha could see them better.
On August 25th Grisha had evaluation at ophthalmologist and it showed that Grisha's vision is unlikely to improve as he has scarring and retinal dystrophy.

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