South Carolina Doctors Give Ukraine War Refugee Toddler Gift Of Sound
VYSNE NEMECKE, SLOVAKIA - MARCH 05: A mother tries the baby carrier with the help of women on March 5, 2022 in Vysne Nemecke, 2022. The woman travels with her four kids and her husband based on the exception that a man can join the family if the family has three and more kids. In collaboration with the non-formal so-called group "We carry kids in Presov" women on the move were offered free carriers donated in the nationwide collection. Many of those carriers are distributed by humanitarian help to women in Ukraine. According to the United Nations, more than a million people have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries since Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Based on the WHO's and UNICEF's Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, in an emergency situation, infants who are exclusively breastfed have their health and well-being protected by the food, water, and immune factors provided by breast milk. Breastfeeding also mitigates physiological responses to stress in both infants and their mothers, helping them to cope with the stress of being caught up in an emergency situation. Studies suggest that breastfeeding is the safest way to feed babies in emergency situations. It helps protect babies against infections, which are more common in such situations. Civic association Mamila in Slovakia provides professional lactation advice to women by registered advisors. In response to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Mamila decided to support women on the move by offering lactation consultancy at Vysne Nemecke crossing checkpoint where many women with kids wait for the next move. Based on the experience from Vysne Nemecke the Mamila association plans to directly help women who are placed in residential facilities as those conditions offer more privacy than an open tent at the border crossing.
There are lots of things we take for granted every day. Our senses are one of them; imagine losing one of those senses or never having one of them from go.
When the Russias invaded Ukraine last year, Oleh Kuzmin, his wife Diana Kuzmina, and their two children, six-year-old Filip and his two-year-old sister Zlata left everything behind in Odessa for a new life in the U.S. They didn’t just hope for a better life, but also wanted medical care for Zlata, who they believed was completely deaf.
According to CBS News, after settling in Boiling Springs, South Carolina, they met Dr. Teddy McRackan, a cochlear implant specialist. He confirmed that Zlata was deaf in her left ear, but he saw a glimmer of hope in her right ear. In mid-March, McRackan and his team surgically placed a cochlear implant in Zlata’s right ear at the Medical University of South Carolina Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. The surgery aimed to give Zlata “the best chance possible when it comes to having a kind of auditory hearing.”
The family waited a month for the incision to heal before the device could be turned on to determine the procedure’s success. Last month, the cochlear implant was finally activated, and Zlata could hear, marking an emotional moment for her parents. Although she’s not cured of deafness, the little girl can now hear with the device attached to her head and the implant. Her mother hopes that she’ll eventually be able to understand her family’s words and songs — “and I hope she will sing with us.”
I am sure this family has big hopes for the future. I have a pageant sister who received a cochlear implant when she was younger, and now she is a very talented news anchor.
Source: CBS News
LauRen Merola Strager is a former NFL & NBA cheerleader turned radio host. LauRen is a former Miss Pennsylvania USA and is a proud wife and mother of two. She is the owner and chief editor for her fashion and lifestyle Blog “All Of The F-Words” and is a champion for the Autism community. You can read all about LauRen’s thoughts on motherhood, pageant life, and everyday life through her online content.