Stories that you confided to us
The medication situation is not just critical - it is terrifying. You cannot even find a common cough medicine in the pharmacy, let alone such a valuable medication as insulin. They stopped all imports in the summer of 2014.
My daughter, 13-year-old Karina, has been taking insulin injections since the age of three. I found out about my daughter's problems almost by accident – when she was three years old, she was having a regular check-up before going to kindergarten.
Tests showed increased sugar, so it turned out that Karina has Type 1 diabetes. Her pancreas does not release its own insulin, so every day, five times a day, the child receives an injection of insulin before meals, at night and in the morning in order to support the condition. If insulin is not injected, the child's body will start producing a deadly acetone dose.
When Donetsk was in the battle zone, there was no insulin left. We knocked on all the doors, but the answer was the same - no insulin. Even the children's hospital stated the same: they don't have any, and they won't
Our doctor advised us to contact the Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center – and a month later they told us to come and get it. I, a single mother and a disabled person of group 1 regard insulin to be worth its weight in gold. A month treatment course costs 3500 UAH.
But sooner or later, Karina's body will get used to it, and then the medication will will have to be changed. However, while the daughter has not got used to it yet, she feels good. Karina is doing the injections by herself using a PFS. Without doubt, this is a painful procedure, and you need to injection a different place each time, but Karina is already used to the pain.
The best option for a child would be to use a pump. It attaches to the body and injects the necessary dose of insulin into the blood itself. But the pump costs more than 1000 USD. We are happy with what we have now!
When quoting a story, a reference to the source – the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation – is mandatory, as follows:
The Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/
Other stories
