"big man, big scar" -- another "chernobyl heart" story from kharkiv, ukraine

Ilya is a 1 year old with Down's Syndrome and a penchant for chocolate.  His mother quit her job a a sociologist to stay home with Ilya and his two older brothers.  His father, a software specialist, looks at this three sons and says the only difference between them, as far as he is concerned, is that Ilya is the calm one.

But Ilya had one more difference --  a hole between the two receiving chambers of his heart. His only hope was open heart surgery. Thanks to your support, he received a second chance at life on February 16, when a volunteer heart surgery team visited Kharkiv, Ukraine.

The day after Ilya's surgery he was relaxing with his parents nearby.   Mom and dad smiled from ear to ear, and couldn't thank us enough.  "Thank you that you exist, thank you that you saved his life.  If it weren't for your program, Ilya probably would not have had surgery because of the lack of experience of the local doctors."

Ilya's parents were surprised after surgery  -- not just at his dramatically improved physical appearance, but at how quickly he recovered.

Mom said,  "I was hoping for a smaller scar."  Proud dad said, "Big man, big scar." 

"After the surgery they told us that we may need to teach him again how to hold his head, sit up, and so on, and I was worried because we already worked so hard to teach him all that because of his Down's Syndrome.  But he sat up right after the surgery."

This summer, the family hopes to vacation at the beach.  Ilya especially loves the water and the sun and being with his family.  Mom asked if it would be safe to take him to the beach so soon after surgery. Our nurse told her, "As long as you put sunscreen on him."