A Hadassah doctor saved the life of a 4-year-old girl in a Ukrainian refugee camp

by time news

A mother came to the refugee center this week with her two 8-year-old and 4-year-old children when there was very little in the bag they managed to take. They fled destitute after the bombing began and soon packed up and left their hometown – Dnipro (formerly Dnepropetrovsk) which is in east-central Ukraine.

The clinic, located in Przemyƛl, is operated by a medical and nursing staff from Hadassah, together with representatives of the Red Cross and the Natan organization, for the citizens of Ukraine who have escaped the severe shelling and are seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Among the items not collected were the medications of the 4-year-old little girl, who needed them immediately for the treatment of cystic fibrosis from which she has been suffering all her life chronically and daily. It is a life-threatening disease that affects many body systems and causes severe damage to lung and pancreatic function. Due to her condition, the girl’s routine of life is extremely complex and she needs medication, inhalations at least 3 times a day and respiratory physiotherapy to clear the accumulated phlegm that is healthy and causes breathing difficulties – and endangers her life.

“When they came to our clinic in the refugee camp, the mother said that she and her children spent 5 days on the road without any treatment for the girl, a condition that worsened her condition and put her in real life danger,” says Dr. Alex Gills, a pediatric pulmonary specialist at Hadassah Medical Center. In his clinic at the hospital. ‘Luckily she came to take care of our staff, and at the first meeting the mother was very exhausted and worried about her daughter’s condition. After long days of driving, the girl came to us panting heavily with a poor stature, with blocked lungs – a real immediate danger. We started treatment immediately and after receiving the treatment she needed, Hadassah’s brothers gave her mother careful instruction in the physical therapy she needed to perform. “4-year-old Jasnia went to bed without difficulty breathing and we made an appointment with her for further treatment the next day,” Dr. Gills describes with excitement.

‘In the morning, before the family was put on a train to Germany, we continued the necessary treatment and were able to stop the breathing difficulty. There is no doubt that her life was saved thanks to a stop at the refugee camp and the meeting with our nursing and medical staff from Hadassah. ” Dr. Gills said goodbye to the family not long before he explained to his mother how to proceed. “This brave and determined mother left everything to save her children,” he concludes, “and we would not let her little daughter lose her breath or deteriorate in her condition, which was very dangerous anyway. I am glad that we were called on its way at just the right moment, because that is why our delegation went out with the support of the global Hadassah Women’s Organization, Hadassah International and the Hadassah management, to help families who were displaced and quickly left everything they knew into an unknown future. I hope they have reached a safe shore and Wisnia is feeling well. ‘

Yesanya, her mother and Dr. Alex Gills. Photo: Hadassah spokeswoman

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