Hello, dear and kind people, dear Donors!

Today I will tell you about our beautiful and struggling girl - our dream Christine.

I've been standing here for almost an hour and I don't know how to start without the trite "I thought I would never have" or "I can't believe it's happening to us", but illness can happen to absolutely anyone.

It came to us at the end of my pregnancy when a "different" fetal heart rhythm was registered. After several examinations by different pediatric cardiologists, we were told that the problem would be outgrown by age 1, if it occurred at all after birth.

Born at term, on her second day of life, Christine had her first cardiogenic shock, with a heart rate of 280 bpm. She was put on suite ventilation, and I was discharged - without my baby in my arms.

What followed was a long month, in which at 5 days old we got the call at 2.30am that she was being rushed to the National Heart Hospital/ NCHH/ as an emergency. Repeated resuscitations, intubations and extubations and at the end of her first month of life we were home together.

But unfortunately not for long. On 13.12.2021 after a lot of vomiting she just stopped breathing, I don't remember how we took her and how many hours we spent in front of the resuscitation, but I remember the words of a doctor - "Pray she makes it through the night".. and she did, after 10 days on ventilator, I was finally able to hug her. We spent our first Christmas in the hospital. But we were together.

We had a great year, she was growing, developing, and we were enjoying her, going to monthly check-ups and things seemed normal.
Until on 01/31/2023, after a high fever and test, she turned up with influenza A. Through the device we use to monitor her, we noticed her heart rate was high again, and we were immediately referred to the Cardiology Hospital.
They admitted her to the ICU as an emergency and told us that they would admit me in a day or two to continue monitoring her. But during her stay in the hospital, a third cardiogenic shock followed with rates up to 300 bpm. Can you imagine your heart beating 300 times in 1 single minute? The next 2 months were a constant fight for her life.

One day we were called in for a call and heard the scariest words "we are sorry but the future prognosis is bad, your child will not live, we can do nothing more for her than keep her until you find a place to transport her".
This is the end of the treatment here in Bulgaria.
But here she is 2 months later, albeit with a deterioration in her general health, still fighting for her life.
Unfortunately her heart is not working properly, it is not contracting, it is not pumping enough blood and with each passing day things are getting worse. She is currently still in the hospital, on supportive medications - adrenaline, dopamine, corotrope.

The only chance she has to live is a new heart transplant.

Which will be done in two stages - first inserting a special machine called "Berlin heart", which is actually a bridge between her current condition and the second stage - the transplant.

For these few months Christine has struggled and experienced a lot, and our dreams are so simple - to run with the other children, to smile and enjoy life, to take her to her First Day of School..

Chrissy needs your help! For this dear people, friends, acquaintances and strangers, we ask you from the bottom of our hearts - help us to cure our child.

Thank you and stay healthy!