Lyudmila Firsova

"Our grandson was very afraid of shelling, he asked me to cover his ears"

After the death of his mother, my 11-year-old grandson Faruk Kazum is in my care. He is very ill and cannot walk on his own. Without the daily intake of expensive medications, the consequences can become irreversible. We do physical exercises every day, although it's already hard for me to lift him, he weighs 30 kilograms. The exercise is needed so that the muscles do not atrophy, because he does not walk.

My grandson was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at nine months. Faruk was born prematurely, with asphyxiation. When my grandson was four years old, his mother died as a result of an unsuccessful operation. After that, he has been having epileptic seizures. Mom was there - and suddenly she is no more.

With each attack, some brain cells die, so we need to take expensive medications every day. Otherwise, Farouk 's condition would deteriorate sharply.

All this was provided for us under the state program. And now there are no such free medications, we just need to buy them.

Before the war, Faruk lived with his father and his family. But with the beginning of hostilities, they left, and Faruk was left to me. The grandson was very afraid of shelling, he asked me to cover his ears. And they were shooting very hard. We layed in the corridor on mattresses, covering our heads with our hands. It was indescribably scary.

I have nothing to buy drugs for, I raise my grandson alone. I was widowed four years ago.

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