Новини 09.09.24 News 09.09.24

Hello, Today I will tell you in a little more detail about everything Eva went through during our visits to Agyabadem Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey and what is ahead of us. At the end of May, I contacted a representative from Ajebadem, who scheduled us with a neurosurgeon for a review. On 03.06 the whole family traveled to Istanbul to meet with Dr. Gökhan Bozkurt, a neurosurgeon at the same hospital. After examining Eva, due to the seriousness of her situation, he directly asked us if we were ready for a life-saving surgery to remove the entire tumor the very next day, but due to lack of funds we had to decline, with the explicit clarification that such a surgery must be done within 2 weeks. On the same day we had to stay in a hotel for one night, as Eva and the children were very tired from the journey and there was no way we could go straight back to Bulgaria.

The costs were respectively 350 euros for the transfer Plovdiv-Istanbul-Plovdiv, 150 euros for the check-up in the hospital and 100 euros for the overnight stay in the hotel in Istanbul. The reason why I chose this hospital and Dr Bozkurt's team was very simple - they, out of 10 hospitals in Bulgaria and abroad, were the only ones giving Eva a chance at life. At that point she was in a very serious physical and emotional condition, with paresis of her right limbs and difficulty speaking and a 10 cm tumor in her brain.

Immediately after the examination I spoke to a group of my good friends and with their help we started a fundraising campaign on Pavel Andreev's platform. Two days after we got back to Bulgaria, I received a pro forma invoice from the hospital for the necessary surgery and all the expenses surrounding the hospital treatment, amounting to 29,390 euros. At this extremely difficult time I literally did not know what would happen, whether we would raise the money in time, whether Eva's condition would allow another 6 hour trip, what I would do with the two kids - they were one of my biggest worries - whether to take them with us, who to leave them with. All in all, sleep was not catching me. Eva was adamantly refusing to travel again, and there was no question of another operation, so I had to take matters into my own hands and act. Here I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart first of all my friends who were by my side at this difficult time, who gave me courage and strength not to give up, despite the horror we were going through. I would like to thank the boys who, while Eva was still in the hospital in Bulgaria, came home, took the children for a walk, shopped at the store and even accompanied me to Victor's party at the kindergarten, at the moment when his mother was in intensive care and I didn't know if he would wake up. I thank God that these people are still with us today and have become the family that I miss terribly. I would also like to thank the staff at the Pavel Andreev Foundation for their quick response, calling me every day to ask how Eva and the children were. A huge thank you also to all the people with big hearts, because of whom in less than a week we raised the money for the operation and were able to go to Istanbul again - without your help Eva would not have come back to life! Thank you also to the shop owners who agreed to put collection boxes in them and to the guys who gave of their personal time and were responsible for making sure the money raised got to us! Thank you also to BTV who contacted me back at the hospital and we did a very emotional interview. Last but not least, I want to thank the people from Lokomotiv Plovdiv Fan Club, Lauta Armi and all the black and white brothers and sisters from the different groups who give me the will to live and fight every single day!

On the 11th of June we returned to Turkey for pre-operative tests, and on the 12th Eva underwent a difficult nine-hour life-saving operation, thanks to which the entire tumor was removed. Those 9 hours were the hardest of my entire life. As I looked at the empty room, I realized how much I loved her and that I wouldn't live a day without her. Dr. Goekhan told me that if we had waited 1 more day, it would have been fatal - another sign that someone upstairs wanted my girl to live! Here I want to thank Dr. Gookhan Bozkurt and his team who did the impossible to save my wife! After surgery, Eva was in intensive care in less than 24 hours. I was able to see her for 10 minutes and thank God that she recognized me and even smiled at me. The next day at noon they wheeled her into the room and the kids and I were the happiest people on earth - I'll never forget running downstairs to see her. Her condition was as it had been before surgery, which was great news for us given that a tumor the size of a small bottle had been removed from her head. An MRI after surgery showed that everything was indeed cleared up and recovery was following. Due to the fact that Eva was running a fever, several additional interventions had to be made - fluid was taken from her spine three times for testing and several different types of antibiotics were alternated, along with constant liver and blood tests. Because of this, we had to extend our stay until almost the end of June and pay an additional €8900. After the tests showed that there was nothing to worry about, Dr Bozkurt wrote us out saying "I admire you for looking after your wife and two small children on your own, come home to Bulgaria and have some rest". Unfortunately, however, rest was a mirage as every day at home was a terrible mental and physical struggle due to Eva's deteriorating mental state and her reluctance to do anything, be it drinking fluids or getting out of bed. It was an extremely difficult time for me and the children and thanks to my friends we somehow managed to preserve and move on. On the 10th of July it was time to return to Turkey for a check-up and a 45-day course of radiation and chemotherapy at a cost of 14,400 euros. I was terribly worried - on the one hand about how Eva would tolerate the therapy, on the other what to do with the children and who to leave them with for such a long time. In the end I decided to take them with us and we all left again for Istanbul. Eventually this turned out to be one of the best decisions, because halfway through our stay I fell into a very severe psychological crisis, with constant panic attacks and anxiety, and only the children gave me the strength to fight. I thank Eva for giving me a wonderful son like Victor, who looked after, fed and comforted little Bozhidarka most of the day! At the beginning of the therapies Eva was quite nervous and after a visit to the psychiatrist she had to start a course of antidepressants which calmed her down and we even started doing exercises in the hotel once or twice a day. This did her good both mentally and physically and to my joy she tolerated the therapies as normal as possible. In the meantime, with her constant smile and friendly attitude, Eva became everyone's favourite on the ward. Even the nurses who were not in charge stopped to greet and hug her.

At times I could see the old smiling, positive and extremely kind to everyone Evdokia, whom I married and this made me very happy. After a month and a half the treatment was over and on the 23rd of August we returned to Bulgaria. Eva was still calm most of the time, which enabled me to resume appointments with a physiotherapist and clinical speech therapist. Thanks to the exercises we did in Turkey, Eva is now becoming straight and taking her first steps on her own. The physiotherapist says that this is a huge progress and we should not stop moving in this direction. Unfortunately there is no indication of improvement in her right arm yet. Regarding her speech, she wants to tell me something but is having a hard time finding the words. Her speech therapist is hopeful that with training there will be improvement, especially since she is already taking her first steps. As I find it very difficult to manage on my own at home, I have to look for a woman to help me in the household, because my strength is leaving me now, and taking care of Eva and the children takes all my time and energy.

The hospital sent me a pro forma invoice with Eva's upcoming crucial surgeries to close her skull and insert a shunt to drain the fluid from her head. The amount is quite large - 67 000 euros. Combined with the cost of physiotherapists, speech therapist, babysitter, psychologist, medication and other pressing, I'm beginning to fear that just as Eva starts to walk uphill, the money will run out and we'll be up against the wall. In mid-October we will have a follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon and radiation therapist who will determine exactly when the two surgeries will be done and if additional money will be needed for medications and tests. We are in the middle of the battle and it depends on your help whether we win it or not! Just the fact that Eva has survived three major surgeries, limb paresis, speech difficulties and 45 days of radiation shows that she is an extremely strong and fighting woman to win this battle and the reward of watching her two little ones grow up! Please stand by us and remember us because without your help we are lost!