Nastya was born with osteogenesis imperfecta. It was not diagnosed right away. From age four she underwent treatment including pamidronate therapy at various Moscow hospitals. My daughter’s bones strengthened and stopped breaking. Last year, after surgery on her left foot she finally started to walk. But there is more misfortune: at the age of 18 months she was diagnosed with scoliosis. The curvature of her spine quickly became critical. Until Nastya started walking it was bearable but now that she is more active, it causes her much pain. Nastya always really wanted to go to school and now it was possible. But she cannot sit through all her classes – during each break I help her lie down to rest. The children like Nastya a lot, but she's embarrassed by her hump and tries to hide it under her clothes. Only spinal implant surgery can help our daughter. However, due to her main diagnosis this type of surgery is only available at a limited number of hospitals. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the US has agreed to accept Nastya. We're not able to cover the high cost of the surgery ourselves: my husband is an engineer, I take care of Nastya, and we receive Nastya's disability pension. Please, help us! Oksana Kosterina, Nizhny Novgorod Region.

The curvature became critical

2013-03-31