Another Yulia's photo

Hello!
My name is Olga Dikan. My daughter Yuliana was born on May 27, 2007. She was healthy at birth, and was growing and developing in accordance to her age. Since she was born, she only got sick three times with common colds. In general, nothing pointed at upcoming disaster. On March 14th I noticed that Yulia's leg got swollen. At the clinic, we were asked for a urine test. And then everything seemed to go wrong... Only on April 10th the doctor, finally, referred Yulia for a blood test. The next day, without any explanation, we were hospitalized at Children's hospital No.1 in St. Petersburg. There Yulia was diagnosed with a terrifying disease, myeloblastic leukemia, which sounded like a thunder in a clear sky.
By now, we have completed the first round of chemotherapy. Yulia is stoically tolerating constant IV drips and other procedures. My little girl does not talk much yet, but at the hospital she quickly learned to say "No, don't do it".
Currently, she is prescribed expensive anti-fungal drug Vfend as supporting therapy. I work as a nurse of an ambulance team, and my small salary of 7,000 rubles does not allow me to pay for this medication. I do not get any stipend as a 4-year student of Medical University. Please help me with paying for costly supporting drugs, antifungal medications, tests, baby food, diapers, and other living expenses.
Yulia has a rare blood type, B(III) Rh(-). I would really appreciate your help with finding blood donors, as blood transfusion station does not always have Yulia's type blood.
Thank you in advance for any help and support.

Respectfully, Olga Dikan
Home address:
197762, St. Petersburg,
Kronshtadt, ul. Ammermana, dom 44 kv. 10.
Contact phones:
+7 (812) 435-11-53
+7 (921) 360-60-90 (Olga, Yulia's mom)

Update as of June 3, 2009. The second chemotherapy round was started. Yulia needs constant intake of Vfend in 200 mg/day dosage. Intravenous Vfend is preferable, and one bottle of the drug a day costs 5,000 rubles. Yulia will undergo CT scan that will show how her condition is after aspergillosis therapy.
The first round was very difficult for us. Yulia does not walk still, as her legs feel very weak. About two weeks ago, she started eating and began gaining weight. Thank you very much for your help and support.
Yulia's mom

Update as of August 10, 2009. Yulia finished the third course of chemotherapy. She tolerated it well. However, since it was a high-dosage course, all her blood counts plummeted (leukocytes, platelets and hemoglobin) and continue decreasing further.
Based on the latest CT scan of lungs, the situation with the fungal infection has improved, but Yulia still needs Vfend therapy (200 mg a day). We are not even allowed to leave the room right now, but Yulia is not upset about it, because I keep her entertained. We draw, read and learn letters with the "talking alphabet". In her early age, my daughter already knows half of the letters. We really hope that her blood counts will recover soon. Ahead of us is the last, fourth, chemotherapy round.
We are very thankful to AdVita fund and all our supporters! With your help and God's will we will most definitely recover!
Yuliana's mom

Update as of November 17, 2009. On October 16th Yulia completed the main course of treatment. We stayed at home for 10 days, which was a huge event for us. Yulia became happier, more active and joyful. She was transforming in front of our eyes.
We still needed to go for radiation though, so for three weeks we were at Oncology Research Institute on radiation therapy. Now we are at Children's hospital No.1, where we will return once a month for re-induction.
We are very thankful to everyone for their help!
Yulia's mom

Update as of December 26, 2009. Hi everyone!
We are done with another reinduction (which we have every 28 days, that is, every time we stay in hospital for 4 days and Yulia gets four injections of Cytozar).
After each injection the blood counts are going down, and we have to spend around two weeks in hospital. Not much fun of course but it it still better than when we were going through the main treatment course and had to spend half a year in hospital. Maintenance therapy (reinductions) is to last until March 2011.
Yulia is feeling fine. She started to talk a lot better at home. Her hair is growing. She is still not eating well but that is due to Mercaptopurine which she is to take until March 2011.
This year has been very hard for our family. Thank you all for your help, and we are especially grateful to the blood donors, the ones we know and the ones we don't know, who helped us in need. Yulia got 27 platelet concentrate and 8 erythrocyte concentrate transfusions! Many thanks to the doctors and nurses of the acute leukemia chemotherapy unit of Children's City Hospital 1 for their professionalism and patience, and a special thank you to our doctor! Many thanks to the staff and volunteers of the AdVita fund, the staff of the Possiisky Fond Pomoschi fund, volunteers of the Parents of St. Petersburg Club and all those who donated money for the expensive Vfend. Thanks to all of you we could truly believe that Yulia is going to recover.
Happy New Year! May you and yours stay healthy!
Respectfully, Olga,
Yulia's mother

Update as of January 13, 2010. Three days before the New Year Yulia was admitted to the hospital with fever. After tests, she was diagnosed with radiation poisoning as a complication from radiation therapy.
She was prescribed antibiotics and Dexamethasone. Yulia met New Year at the hospital. The treatment of radiation poisoning was completed. However, on January 10th, my daughter started vomiting and had diarrhea. On January 12th she had an ultrasound test and esophagogastroduodenoscopy and was diagnosed with inflammation of pancreas. She is now receiving appropriate therapy. Unfortunately, scheduled re-induction course that was supposed to start on January 11th had to be postponed for some time.
Yulia's mom

Update as of January 29, 2010. Yulia's condition had stabilized after she had inflammation of pancreas. It was decided to start the next re-induction course. On Thursday, January 28th, she had the last Cytosar injection. Today Yulia had tests and the results are good.
The next week, probably on Wednesday, she will be discharged after the control tests. The next planned hospitalization will be on February 22.
Yulechka had grown up quite a bit during this time. She also learned a lot of new words, and enjoys putting together puzzles for the "wrong" age - for the 4-5 year olds. She also loves reading books. Yulia is a very thoughtful and attentive child.
Yulia's mom

Update as of February 17, 2010. On February 24th we plan to be admitted to the hospital.
Here are new Yulia's photos. If someone follows Yulia's life, they may be interested to see how she has grown.
Yulia's mom

Update as of March 7, 2010. On February 24th we were admitted for another re-induction, 6th in total. All was well, except for the blood counts that dropped very low. For several days they were recovering and on March 4th we were discharged on the condition that we will visit a hematologist in a week to check on her condition and get tested.
The next hospitalization is scheduled for March 24. So we will rest and eat well, as at the hospital Yulia does not eat much at all, either because of medications, or the environment. She is used to living at home. This time, during discharge, she was happily dancing and crying out loud "Home, home!"
Yulia's mom

Update as of April 9, 2010. On March 24th Yulia was not hospitalized as was planned due to low leukocyte count. She was sent home to "grow" them. On March 29th Yulia was hospitalized and she was discharged on April 8th. All went relatively well. Yulia was even eating better than before hile she was at the hospital.
Our daughter is changing in from of our eyes. She became more sociable and every day she amazes us with something new: a rhyme, or a song. It sounds like she speaks a "foreign" language. And she demands applause: "Mama, clap your hands!"
She is certainly bored at home, but for now she cannot be around healthy kids due to the threat of picking up some disease, partcularly common childhood infections.
It will go on like this until she finishes maintenance therapy, so every time we go to the hospital, despite the injections, Yulia is happy - because she will see her friends! "Vovka-friend", - says Yulia and runs to his room.
Here is Yulia's new photo.
The next planned hospitalization is on April 24th.
Thank you very much for the attention and care you give to our family. We really appreciate it. We believe that with your support we will win!
Yulia's mom

Update as of May 6, 2010. On April 26th we weren’t able to enter hospital due to Yulia's low leukocyte count. A few days later she was tested again, but they still did not grow by much. We were sent home until May 4.
However, on May 2, Yulia got fever that stayed for two days, as well as cough. She was refusing to eat and drink. The family doctor diagnosed acute respiratory illness.
By the third day, Yulia's condition became more or less normal. We are now at home and plan to get Yulia's cough under control and get hospitalized next week for another re-induction.

Update as of May 20, 2010. Yulia recovered quickly after acute respiratory illness. It was decided to start re-induction before the May holidays rather than wait until they are over. We were hospitalized on May 8th and discharged on May 20th. All went well. Yulia's appetite and mood were good. The next hospitalization is planned for June 7.
On May 27th Yulia will turn 3 years old. We are expressing our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in her life and continues to support us. Thank you for everything you had done for us. Thanks to you, Yulia is able to celebrate her next birthday.
Yulia's mom

Update as of June 23, 2010. The start of 9th re-induction was delayed by a day. Yulia got another respiratory viral infection, and this time it was more serious: she started with laryngitis and barely avoided pneumonia. She had fever for three days and got raspy sounds in her lungs. Yulia stayed at home and once she got well and her blood counts were good, she started re-induction.
Our pediatrician recommended us to buy nebulizer (inhalator) to recover quicker and prevent development of pneumonia. It seems Yulia's respiratory system became her weak spot. Please help us with buying the inhalator.
My daughter feels well now. She goes for various child development classes. She loves drawing and is getting better at it.
We started re-induction on June 8th and finished it on June 22nd. The next hospitalization is planned for July 6th.
Yulia's mom

Update as of August 7, 2010. On July 7th Yulia was not hospitalized due to low leukocytes. We were sent home for a week.
We were then admitted to the hospital on July 12th and discharged on July 27th. All went well, even though my daughter did not tolerate the heat well: she was sweating a lot, and I was very worried that she will catch a cold from the wind.
Next hospitalization is planned for August 9th. I am sending you Yulia's new photos. She finally grew some hair. She is so happy that she can now decorate her hair with pins and rubber bands!
Yulia's mom

Update as of August 31, 2010. Yulia again had a delay in re-induction for several days, and again due to low leukocytes. We were admitted to the hospital on August 13th and were discharged on August 27th. The 11th re-induction went without complications.
Yulia only did not eat well, as usual. The next hospitalization is planned for September 10th. Thank you for attention to our family.
Yulia's mom

Update as of September 26, 2010. Our planned hospitalization was actually on schedule for the first time in several months. We were admitted on September 10th and discharged on 24th. There was no complications. This month Yulia made the doctors and me very happy.
The next cycle is scheduled to start on October 8th.
Yulia's mom

Update as of October 24, 2010. Yulia got very sick right before the date she was supposed to come to hospital, with a high fever and a bad cough. So instead of October 8 we were admitted to hospital on the 12th. Everything else is going as scheduled.
Yulia's mother

Update as of November 23, 2010. The previous re-induction was finished on October 27th. Yulia was released from a hospital with good blood work. She did not have enough rest at home because she had to be readmitted on November 9th for another, 14th, re-induction. Currently she is in the hospital. Yulia feels good and started to eat better. She is only upset about shots. Yulia keeps crying before and after the shot and is trying to wiggle out and keeps screaming when the shots are administered.
When we are at home, Yulia has sessions with a psychologist from the rehabilitation center, they are playing developmental games. I was worried that the long isolation would lead to some developmental delays, but the psychologist assessed Yulia's developmental level as appropriate for her age. This is good news!
Yulia's mother

Update as of December 22, 2010. On December 7th Yulenka was admitted for the planned, 15th, re-induction. At the hospital, we were met with good news: this is the last re-induction! The administrators of myeloid leukemia protocol made changes to it, and maintenance therapy after induction therapy is now only 1 year instead of 18 months.
Yulia has been on it for 16 months. Re-induction went well and we were discharged on December 23rd. We will now work on recovery of leukocytes and immune system in general. Of course, chemotherapy left its traces: Yulia has issues with her legs since she stopped walking in spring 2009, and was then learning to walk again. She still cannot walk very well and needs regular massage that helps a lot. She also does not have much appetite and thus has low weight. The doctors are telling us that appetite should return soon. I am really hoping it will.
We will now go to the hospital once a month for blood tests and monitoring of Yulia's condition.
I am endlessly grateful to everyone who took part in Yulia's recovery: blood donors whose selfless help enabled continuation of therapy, Yulia's supporters who helped us with buying vitally needed Vfend, our friends, acquaintances and strangers. Thank you, thank you very much for taking our problem to your hearts. Thank you for your support. For giving us Yulia's life back! We are also grateful to the doctors and nurses - you are real professionals!
There were many challenges, but with your help we endured and overcame them. Thank you for Yulia!
Happy New Year! Hope you and your loved ones stay in good health.
Yulia's mom

Update as of March 28, 2011. Three months ago Yulia's maintenance chemotherapy ended. There will be no more tablets and injections, and the girl is very happy about that.
Now we visit the hospital once a month for blood tests. The blood counts are stable, within normal ranges.
Yulia has become much more grown-up. Now we hear her whys all the time. Why does the sun shine by day? and why does the moon shine at night? Why should we go to sleep?
She goes to a rehabilitation center twice a week to see her speech therapist, who helps her fill some gaps in her knowledge. In autumn she is to go back to her preschool and see her mates, from whom she was separated for two years because of the hospital. She tells me, "I wish I had a friend..."
Thanks you for your attention to our achievements. We hope we will bring only good news to you.
Yulia's mom

Update as of August 23, 2011. Hello! Our daughter is doing well. Monthly tests show stable situation. In August Yulia started daycare and met her new friend. Our life is normal now. Yulia is active, happy and she surprises us daily with pleasant discoveries. I am sending her new photo.
Yulia's mom

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