Anfisa: a long rehabilitation still lies ahead

Only Hadassah agreed to a radical treatment — one that wouldn't just postpone the symptoms by a few years but could truly help. The bill: $268,815. With the help of kind people the family raised it, and in the summer Anfisa flew to Israel.

On 28 June Professor Serraf performed a 10-hour operation. Her heart began working almost like a healthy one, and for the first time in her life her oxygen rose to 96-98%.

For the first time in her life — 96-98% oxygen in her blood.

But the way back proved far harder than the doctors expected. After the operation she suffered a brain haemorrhage and needed emergency cranial surgery. For over a month her kidneys didn't work, and a machine helped her breathe.

Anfisa keeps fighting — slowly, but a step forward every day. She is learning to move again, builds Lego, folds origami and has even played the guitar. Her dream is to become a pastry chef and bake cakes for people with allergies — she knows first-hand what living with allergies is like.

Her dream: to bake cakes for people with allergies.

The long stay in intensive care and the many operations have left a debt to the hospital of more than $500,000.

If you are reading these lines, you are already part of Anfisa's story. Today Anfisa's future depends not only on her doctors, but on each of us. Let's bring her home — together.