Mom was mistaken

The story of Fedi Sarabiev, operated on the womb

Help the back of Bifida help

It was the second Katina Pregnancy. At the ultrasound at twenty weeks, he and her husband went fun. This is a cheerful ultrasound: they usually say a boy or a girl, and give a picture of a future child, on which a funny and already quite human face.

But there was nothing fun. The doctor made a complex face, said that the fetus has a severe pathology of the spinal cord and brain, that she would have to be aborted. And Katya still could not understand how to kill a child who sits inside her and did nothing wrong.

Katya Sarabeva with her son Fedor. Katya is a veterinarian cardiologist. Higher medical education and knowledge of the English language allowed her to deal with the diagnosis of her son and find the surgeons who operated on it in utero at the 24th week of pregnancy Photo: Olga Pavlova

Returning home, she almost did not cry. She climbed on the Internet, she knows how. She is a veterinarian-cardiologist and is also working on translations of medical scientific articles. He knows how to look for scientific articles on the Pubmed resource and read them in English. If the articles are closed, Katya even knows how to hack them. The other woman would not have coped in her place alone, but Katya coped.

She found an article by American Professor Adzik about how, back in 1998, he performed the first intrauterine operation to the fruit with a diagnosis of Spina Bifida. Katina doctors shook their heads. They said that the whole Katya property would not be enough to pay for the operation in America. Then Katya found the articles of the Swiss professor Mlessie about how he does intrauterine operations in Europe, in Zurich. It is closer, it's cheaper. Under the article there were even contacts by Professor Moil, email and phone. A woman who does not know English would not have coped with negotiations, but Katya has good English. Katya called Zurich, but Professor Moil was not in place. He was on vacation. Katya left a secretary’s message for the professor. Katya’s child in his stomach is sluggish, but already pushed. Katya knew from the scientific articles that the fetus can only be done until the twenty -fourth week of pregnancy. She had three weeks left.

Katya went to church, put a candle in front of the icon of all those who mourn the joy, raised her eyes to the Virgin and Christ the little one and asked: "Lord, for what?"

Fedor Sarabiev is a year and two months. He is the first Russian child with Spina Bifida, operated on intrauterine in Switzerland photo: Olga Pavlova

And no, Professor Moil did not call back immediately, not on the direct immediately order of the angels. But he called back soon. Yes, he can do a prenatal operation. Yes, three weeks remain to do all the examinations, collect all the documents, find money and come. How much money? Translated into Russian rubles - five million.

Doctors in the perinatal center helped to undergo examination of Katya. Mitya Aleshkovsky and the Tradition Foundation helped to collect money. Nobody helped with visas, tickets, tickets and other logistics, Katya coped herself.

In Zurich, Professor Moil, Katya told Katya about all the risks associated with the operation. Then the professors were urgently called to the patient, and then the assistant professor continued to tell further. From their explanations it turned out that the child’s chances to be born healthy or almost healthy during intrauterine operations increase significantly, but the danger of complications for a woman is growing - the uterine rupture, detachment of the placenta, detachment of the fetal shells are possible ...

The eldest brother Fedor Matvey is two and a half years old. Fedor reaches for Matvey and repeats everything behind him : Olga Pavlova

Katya came to the operating room with her own feet, and followed after her a bed was rolled down the corridor. Katya sat on the operating table, the anesthetist made her a sedative injection before starting to conjure with complex anesthesia. Katya thought: “What if I don’t wake up?”, But then the tranquilizer began to act, and Katya became anyway.

When Katya woke up, the whole team of Professor Moglya stood above her. They said the operation was successful. Katya hoped to lie down in the clinic for another week, and then write out and live in a guest house, or even fly to Moscow in general. But it soon became clear that Katya had a detachment of amniotic fluids. Of the forty patients to whom Professor Moil made intrauterine operations, Katya with this complication was the second. Katya spent all the remaining ten weeks of pregnancy in the clinic. Almost all the time lying. The amniotic fluid was leaving. The last two weeks - and at all under the dropper.

Finally, Fedor was born. Katya was awake when she was made a cesarean section. She saw that the child was taken out of it and immediately carried it to the neighboring from the operating room for newborns.

Fedor photo: Olga Pavlova

Nobody said anything for a few minutes. The gynecologist surgeon Professor Zimmerman, sewing up Katina's uterus and Katin Bryushin, tried to joke, but Moviel stood gloomy, all the other members of the team were silent. So far, finally, a neonatologist from the infant's nozzle showed a thumb with a smile - everything is in order, the child is alive and it seems to be approximately healthy.

Katya was awake when she was made a cesarean section. She saw that the child was taken out of it and immediately carried it to the neighboring from the operating room for newborn

The more days have passed since Fedor’s birth, the more he was examined, the more reasons for joy. Everything is in order with the head: neither hydrocephalus nor Arnold-Kiary syndrome. There is sensitivity in the legs, moves your feet, is not paralyzed. And even - that’s a rare success! - The pelvic organs work, the baby itself poopes and pisses.

A couple of weeks later, Katya returned to Moscow. With the little Fedor, who was practically healthy, and only in case he had to be examined once every six months.

Mom introduces a catheter into the urethra to take the urine from the bladder and avoid kidney torture. Parents almost never do this necessary for most children with Spina Bifida in Russia, and doctors almost never recommend. In Europe, this is a routine manipulation, it is owned by all family members and educators in kindergarten and school photo: Olga Pavlova

And here, in joy, Katya made her only mistake. Rather, no, even something was wrong with her. A month after Katya, Katya began to notice, changing Fedor Pampers that the boy seemed to be concerned about touching her back. And she seemed to notice that on her stomach the boy was lying calmly, and whimpers on her back. If an experienced physical therapist came to Katya at least once a week, he would have watched the child and deal with the child, he would probably be worried. But only a children's nurse from the clinic came. And the doctor, to whom Katya showed Fedor in Moscow, also did not consider Katina fears as significant. It seemed to Katya that touching his back was becoming more painful for the boy, but there was no experienced person nearby who would say Katya: “Run! Drag him to the surgeon quickly! " And this time she herself did not guess.

And here, in joy, Katya made her only mistake. Rather no, even something was wrong with her seemed to her

Only six months later, when Katya brought Fedor to Zurich for a planned examination, Professor Moil found a dermoid cyst from the baby. This is a rare complication, but it happens. The skin cells at the site of the operation are sometimes collected in a dense tumor from a substance similar to fabric and hair. The cyst presses the spinal cord. You need to operate the faster, the better.

Moil was operating late. The operation lasted five hours. Katya wandered around Zurich, and the longer time stretched, the more clearly Katya understood that the matter was bad.

The main method of rehabilitation for children with Spina Bifida is physical activity. Regular classes with dad at home on a gymnastic ball is better than any expensive course rehabilitation photo: Olga Pavlova

Finally, Mlessie called and said that the boy was alive. Then, day after examination day, they showed that the order was still with their heads, the legs still feel and move. But three days after the operation, the boy never signed himself. Due to this lost dermoid cyst and fixation of the spinal cord, the bladder refused the bladder. Now four times a day to take the urine, Katya introduces a lubricated catheter into the urethra to her son. Probably remains so. Katya blames himself for this.

The Spina Bifida program was created in order to help pregnant women in four weeks to perform all those feats that Katya performed independently - to find a doctor - in Switzerland, in Israel, in India, in Russia. Pass the examinations, collect money, receive, if necessary, visas and tickets. Katya Sarabiev, in fact, helps sisters in misfortune to go along their way. Helped already three.

And also, when the operation is done, whether or immediately after birth, the Spina Bifida program is a physical therapist who comes regularly and regularly with the child, helps to develop and notices anxiety symptoms in time.

So that no one else makes the mistakes that Katya made.

The Spina Bifida program exists on your donations. Any amount - 100, 500, a thousand rubles - can help. You can do this right now by issuing a regular donation.