12 July 2010
It is unbelievable how a person’s life can change in one day. Julia was a regular girl who went to school, did well in her classes, hung out with her friends and thought about going to college. One day after school she felt strong pain around her neck. All day she felt sick and only wanted the pain to go away. The next day she was at the hospital, she was paralyzed. A spinal cord stroke divided her life into two parts: what was before it and what was after.
Julia has had 3 surgeries since 2002. They all were done to prevent the second stroke and fix the paralysis. The first two surgeries did not help. Blood-stroke happened again and again, bringing more and more serious consequences every time. Only the last surgery can be considered successful. It was done in the Research Institute n.a. Dr. Burdenko.
All of Julia’s life goals are now added up to one. That is to become like everybody else. This wish is incomprehensible to a healthy person, who usually wants to stand out and be individual. But it is the only wish for Julia. She wants to be able to move normally, to walk like everyone else. She wants to stop catching all these sympathetic looks on people’s faces and have a chance to live a normal life. What else can a disabled person wish for?
The most important thing is that this wish can come true. Julia’s condition has started improving after the last surgery. The process is very slow. Everything depends on the financial variable of the equation. Julia’s mom is her only support, she has tried to get governmental help for 8 years, with close to no success. They get support, but very rarely. It is enough to keep Julia stable, but not enough to make her progress. The girl needs a good rehabilitation course and those are very expensive, especially for people with disability pension as their only income.
We ask you to help Julia pay for the rehabilitation course in a specialized center «Ortos», that costs 126,000 rubles (4,140 US dollars). This center has helped many people start walking again. Julia believes that they’ll be able to help her too. | 
