The fight for life began even before birth.

He was born with a hole in his tummy, from which his intestines and spleen were visible. For the first two weeks, he didn't breathe on his own. And he held on with all his might while the doctors desperately fought for his life.

Mykolka Zhmurko had a congenital defect – a left-sided diaphragmatic hernia. Even while he was in his mother's womb, a hole formed in his diaphragm.

It was through that opening that the boy's internal organs from the abdominal cavity moved into the chest cavity, forming a hernia. This is very dangerous because the hernia immediately began to put pressure on the lungs, preventing them from developing.

Diaphragmatic hernia in newborns is considered a rare condition, occurring in one out of 5,000 newborns, but it is extremely dangerous. If not operated on in time, the disease will disrupt the functioning of the respiratory organs and lead to the child's death.

Mykolka's mother and father learned about the health problems of their future son at the 20th week of pregnancy. At that time, the family came to Kyiv, to the National Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, where doctors confirmed the diagnosis and advised them to wait until the 33rd week. However, the prognosis then worsened...

Doctors discovered that not only the intestines but also the spleen was visible through the opening. To save the baby's life, as soon as it became possible – at 38 weeks – the mother underwent a cesarean section. Mykolka was born weighing 3,300 grams and 50 cm tall. He cried loudly for the first time. Then he was intubated and connected to life support machines. For six days, doctors in intensive care fought for the child's life. Then came the surgery.

For an hour, surgeons meticulously placed the boy's tiny organs in their proper places, and the hole was sewn up with muscle tissue. It was a painstaking and very risky operation, which, fortunately, was successful. Four days later, Mykolka took his first sip of formula, and a week later – his first breath without the help of a ventilator.

Mykolka was provided with расходные материалы (consumables) and medications in intensive care thanks to #charity_chain, a joint project of "Tvoya opora" and Gusema Jewerly Charity Chain.