Tymurchyk Metelsky was born very ill – his intestines were not inside his tummy, but on it. Until recently, babies like him did not survive.

Gastroschisis is one of the most complex defects with which newborns are born. It is a congenital defect of the anterior abdominal wall, in which loops of the intestines, and sometimes other organs, fall out of the abdominal cavity through a split. Tymurchyk was diagnosed with this condition while still in the womb. His future mother, Yulia, was first sent for examination to Kryvyi Rih – the family is from Oleksandriya in the Kirovohrad region – and then to Kyiv, to IPAG (Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology). The Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology is the only place in Ukraine where newborns with such defects are saved.

And if just a few years ago, Tymurchyk wouldn't have been given a chance even there, now the doctors said: he will live. However, only if a complex operation is successful.

37th week of pregnancy. Future parents Yulia and Yan hug, their minds filled with one thought: "everything must be fine." Then Yan stays to wait, and Yulia goes for a cesarean section. An hour later, she will give birth to her son, but she won't be able to hold him. The next moment after his birth, doctors with Tymurchyk in their arms will rush to the operating room. For forty minutes, they will return his intestines to their place and close the hole in his diaphragm. This is a surgical intervention that requires jeweler-like precision. The slightest wrong move could cost the baby his life...

Fortunately, everything goes successfully. The surgeons deliver the happy news to the father, who was beside himself with worry outside the operating room, and then, when she came out of anesthesia, to the mother. They finally breathe a sigh of relief, but understand: it's too early to relax. Ahead lies intensive care and a recovery period.

Tymurchyk spent two weeks in the intensive care unit, where he received all the necessary medication to get stronger. When his wounds healed, nothing more threatened the baby's life. Tymurchyk was helped with medications and medical supplies in intensive care and during the operation within the framework of #charity_chain, a joint project of "Tvoya opora" and Gusema Jewerly.

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