We are from Russia and repatriated to Israel 1.5 years ago. My son Miron was born prematurely at 33 weeks in Russia due to hypoxia. At first, he could not breathe on his own. On day 3, a cerebral hemorrhage occurred, which led to hydrocephalus, which later led to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Now Myron does not sit on his own, does not walk, does not talk. Since his birth, we have been continuously engaged in rehabilitation and treatment in different countries, and we have had small successes. Mirosha is a very emotional and smiling baby, he loves to chat “in his own language” when they play with him. Unfortunately, he has severe spasticity, which prevents him from moving and sometimes causes severe stiffness and pain. The doctor in Israel said that in the future it will get worse, so we need surgery.

We learned about the SPML operation (with the help of other mothers of special children who performed this operation on their children), the operation is minimally invasive and effective in case of severe spasticity of all limbs (there are no such operations in Israel and the Russian Federation, the doctor writes this in the conclusion). The SPML operation differs from other operations in that it helps eliminate severe spasticity and pain in all extremities (in Miron’s arms and legs) + it is done once and for life, relieving the child of pain and giving the child the opportunity to develop physically. Other operations, including those in Israel, can only affect the legs + these operations are very difficult and after them there is a difficult recovery and usually a repeat operation is required after several years. The SPML operation does not require repetitions, is done once in a lifetime, does not have severe postoperative consequences, and the child quickly returns to normal life after the operation.

On December 14, we have a consultation with a surgeon via Zoom, he is ready to perform the operation, but the amount is prohibitive for us now. We are saving for flights, visa accommodation, and post-rehabilitation. If you could help us raise funds for the operation itself, we would be very happy. After December 14, we will be sent the exact amount of the transaction, and I will be able to send an invoice to you.

We finally got a price quote. This includes surgery costs, hospital costs, anesthesia, and post-operative devices. We will pay for rehabilitation, flights, accommodation, and transfers ourselves.

The estimated date of the operation is April 24.

We really hope that Miron will have a chance in the future to be a little more independent and not suffer from pain.

Thank you.

Honestly, it’s hard to remember the birth of Myron, since at that moment there were a lot of mixed feelings. Myron was a very long-awaited child since I could not get pregnant for some time. At 33 weeks, Miron stopped moving, and I went to the hospital to get checked, it turned out that he had hypoxia, and I urgently needed to have a cesarean section. After the operation, Miron and I were in different intensive care units. The doctor came and said that the child was in serious condition and was not breathing on his own. I was not allowed to get up. But I was very glad that he remained alive. The next day I practically ran to Miron, I had a huge scar, problems, and pain after childbirth, but I didn’t seem to feel it, I wanted to see my son so much. For 2.5 weeks from morning until late evening (the rest of the time we slept in the hospital corridor since it was impossible to go to him at night), Miron’s dad and I sat at his box, held his hand, talked, and sang songs, at some point he was allowed even pull him out of the box and pick him up. It was a very happy and sad moment at the same time, he was covered in tubes, small and defenseless. But our Miron turned out to be a real fighter and these are not just words, he overcame a lot of problems, and we were transferred to a joint ward. In the hospital, I learned to be a mother: feed, change clothes, bathe, change diapers. I cried and rejoiced at his successes, for example, when he learned to suck milk from a bottle on his own, and not drink from a syringe. After 30 days in the hospital, we were sent home with suspicion of cerebral palsy in the future (due to a brain hemorrhage), when Miron turned one, the diagnosis was confirmed. All this time, starting from his birth, we underwent many examinations by doctors and various rehabilitations.

Most of our relatives accepted us as special as we are. Some relatives and friends turned away... But my husband and I felt and continue to feel an insane love for Myron and for each other and a desire to advance his development and save him from pain from spasticity and suffering in the future. With all this, we love him for who he is and do not consider him anything special, he is exactly the kind of son we should have had.

Despite all the difficulties in Miron's life, he grows up to be a very positive and smiling child. He loves it when people talk to him, sing songs, hug and kiss him. He also loves water very much, be it water in the bath or in the sea, he is delighted, probably because in the water the body relaxes and the spasticity recedes a little. In some videos you can see him with a toothbrush, he loves to brush his teeth and play with it????

He also really likes to listen to different music, and by the way, in Hebrew, too, it seems to fascinate him. He likes to swing on swings and walk in a stroller.