Goats and soda: NPR

As a rule, the stories of our “follow -up” series return to the previous articles of goats and soda. But when the independent journalist Ruchi Kumar presented the idea of ​​following the media coverage of a cardiac transplantation for a 12 -year -old girl, whose heart had been weakened by the disease, we were interested. Doctors crossed one of the most brutal Russian attacks against kyiv to collect a heart given by the mother of a 4 -year -old child who died of the brain damage to an accident. Here is an overview of this extraordinary night – and how the girl with the transplant is now.

On the night of July 9, Dr. Borys Todurov, director of the Kyiv Heart Institute, received a call from a colleague from the Ohmatdyt hospital through the city. Earlier than the evening, a 4 -year -old girl died from the brain damage to an accident, and her parents had agreed to give her organs.

Todurov had a patient – Kira Skliarova, a 12 -year -old girl from the Luhansk region in Ukraine – who needed a new heart urgently. Childhood diseases had seriously weakened his own heart. “She had been on the waiting list for a long time, and just a day before setting it up with a mechanical heart, but she needed a transplant,” he told NPR.

He had to risk his own life to end surgery.

The donor’s body was located about 10 miles from the Heart Institute, which was that evening under one of the heaviest Russian attacks since the start of the large-scale war in 2022.

“There were Russian missiles and drones everywhere, the air raid alert was triggered,” he said. “But we had the chance to save a life, so I took it.”

A video made by Todurov shows their vehicle dodging explosions while the Ukrainian air defenses fought from Russian drones. “On our way, we have seen a lot of drones and buildings they targeted that were on fire,” he said.

Kira, center, always has a long road to recover, but doctors are optimistic. “Treatment and rehabilitation are ahead,” said Todurov, “but Kira now has a chance for a new full life.” Kira is flanked by her mother, on the right, and the mother of his heart donor, on the left.

Kyiv Heart Institute

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Kyiv Heart Institute

Girl with a broken heart

Kira’s family was moved during the Russian invasion of their region in 2014 and moved to Kyiv as an internal displaced refugees. In 2019, the girl developed a serious case of pneumonia, which finally led to inflammation of the heart.

It was diagnosed with a post-mocarditis state, said her mother Alona Skliarova, told NPR for a telephone call. During the next six years, Kira endured a rigorous medication treatment diet and was frequently in and outside hospitals.

While his condition has worsened, especially in the past six months, “said his doctor to us:” It’s time to do it on a waiting list for a new heart “,” said Skliarova.

On July 8, her team of doctors decided that the girl was facing an imminent death and operated to adapt an artificial heart to her – an assistance device to help her body pump blood. “When I came to her [after the surgery]She was lying with this mechanism, with everything outside, I could see the blood circulating. [It looked] Like a suitcase, like the one we take with us when we go to the station, “said his mother.

“I was so shocked, really shocked. This image was not for the people who see them,” she said. “I was wondering, if there is no donor heart available, how long one could live with this suitcase device.”

When the July 9 attacks started, Kira was in the USI after her operation. His mother was in the hospital but had to go to a refuge because of intense bombardments. Her husband – Kira’s father – died of Covid in 2021.

Fire surgery

When the news of the donor’s heart came, Todurov did not hesitate.

There was a limited time window to extract the organ and then transplant it.

He and his crew – a brush nurse, a surgeon and an anesthesiologist – went to the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in the middle of the attack and started the procedure, even if the ground under their feet shivered explosions.

“During the extraction, we could not only hear the noises of drones and missiles, but also feeling the vibrations of the explosion,” he said. “We knew that it was very, very dangerous, but once we had the heart, it would only be viable for a few hours outside the body, so we decided to transport it right away”, “

Back in their own hospital, Todurov’s team has not lost time to prepare for cardiac transplantation – even though they felt the building shakes explosions outside.

Despite the growing intensity of the attacks, they got ahead. “Surgergia must be carried out with precision; you need attention, concentration, and we do it with explosions around us. We work to save lives, and they kill civilians around us,” said Todurov.

“A chance in a new life”

“It was a very serious attack that night, but all the time, I prayed all the gods, Kira, Kira, Kira,” recalls her mother. “In one way or another, we survived the night, and when the alarms of the air raids ended, I went to see Kira.” His daughter no longer needed to be connected to the artificial heart machine. “I felt relief,” she said.

“Our doctors – they are gods on earth. I am so grateful to them!”

Kira always has a long road to recover, but doctors are optimistic. “Treatment and rehabilitation are ahead,” said Todurov, “but Kira now has a chance for a new full life.”

The first three days after transplantation were sensitive, said his mother, while her body adapted to the new heart. “She lost weight at the beginning. Her organs did not receive enough blood. And she vomited when she ate.”

After three days, Kira’s body kissed her new heart and health began to improve.

“She has spasticity problems, where her muscles are stiff, on the right side of her arm, her leg and her eye. But she works with a rehabilitation therapist,” said her mother.

Slow-to-make moment

Kira’s transplant was a soft -meter moment for the donor’s mother – a 4 -year -old girl whose organs helped save two other lives that fateful night.

The donor’s mother visited Kira, said Arayna Skliarova, “and listened to her daughter’s heart in Kira’s chest. On the one hand, it is a tragedy for [her]. On the other hand, it has become a chance for life. “She added with gratitude:” I respect her so much, and I am so grateful for her decision. She gave my child a chance to live. “”

The mother and daughter are determined to make the most of this new lease in life. “I hope that we will have more walks in the parks, catch up with everything. There are a lot to kyiv that we have not yet seen, because we have spent these six years in hospitals or we are lying at home with illness,” said Skliarova.

A dream is to visit the mountains of the carpathians. “I was there once and I want Kira to see this beauty, go for a walk, go up [the mount] Khomyak, “she said.” We plan to live. Just to enjoy life, with this new heart. Only God knows what the future will look like, but yes, there is a will to live. “”

Ruchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflicts, policy, development and culture in India and Afghanistan. She is on x at @ruchikumar