Helpless because of disability. Please help dry the tears of sorrow…

It was cold January, and I knew I would be a mom. It is a particular time for every pregnant woman because you know that new life is growing inside you, and you are responsible for it. Nothing is as important as this little heart beating next to yours. 

I imagined giving birth, sitting by her bed, watching her sleep, and kissing her little head and hands a hundred times. And then, it finally happened. It was different from what I had imagined, though. I went into a difficult labor. 

My baby was premature and had hypoxia. 

She lacked a sucking reflex. A blood transfusion and a respirator were required. 

Victoria was taken away from me immediately after birth to undergo life-saving procedures.

I felt unimaginable fear and pain. My daughter was on life support for 23 days! 

On her 5th day of life, she had a sudden cardiac arrest. It was the darkest time of my life. 

My newborn baby girl, whom I loved more than anything, could have died! In moments like that, the minutes become hours, and the hours become ages. Pain and despair become excruciating. Thankfully, my daughter survived! However, the diagnosis I heard from the doctors was like a death sentence. She had cerebral palsy, partial optic atrophy, microcephaly, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, hypotonia (decreased muscle tension), grade 2 intraventricular hemorrhage, steroid-induced glaucoma, and funnel chest. 

I cried so hard that I could not breathe. Today Victoria is 13. Due to cerebral palsy and other diseases, her development has been delayed. She’s dependent on others and requires constant support. We fight to restore her independence by providing her with a team of specialists. She was also diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 7, which has impacted her overall development. Victoria cannot speak or walk. She cannot sit, crawl, eat, or drink without assistance. She has many disabilities, including vision impairment, motor impairment, and intellectual disability. 

As a mom, I don’t want my daughter to watch other children walk, run on the playground, play in the sandbox, ride their bicycles, or walk their dogs. Their parents don’t need to realize how lucky they are to have healthy children. I, however, wish I were in that position. Living with disabilities makes everything different and challenging. Victoria cannot speak yet and communicates through facial expressions and sounds that help her express emotions. She accepts certain people, places, and events around her with a smile. When she feels uncomfortable, she frowns and cries. 

We are doing our best to improve Victoria’s life, overcoming obstacles and acquiring new skills to allow her to function in her environment and live with dignity. We don’t want her to lose previous developmental progress achieved through her hard work. We can see her passion and willingness to learn new things and cooperate with therapists. 

The rehabilitation camps and medical appointments are expensive, though. 

As the mother of a sick child, I feel pain every day. Every time I see other healthy children and watch them grow up, it makes me cry. When they run around on the playground, my daughter wants to join them and tries to stand up, but instead, she falls and cries because she doesn’t understand that she can’t do it. 

I will do my best to make her tears go away! After all, she survived, but at what cost? 

We need your support to make the world around her finally move! 

Mom

*The amount to raise is estimated.