The mum of a little girl has thanked Alder Hey Children's Hospital for giving her daughter a chance to live after fleeing Ukraine.
Zlata Tkachenko, four, had just left intensive care after treatment for leukaemia in Kharkiv. Soon after this, the little girl and her mum Alina were forced to take shelter in a makeshift underground ward after Russian bombs hit the city, reports the Mirror.
Other patients and parents also desperately sought safety in the underground ward. Zlata's mum Alina said it felt like "the earth was trembling".
READ MORE: Moment police swoop to arrest suspect in Elle Edwards murder probe
She said: “Zlata’s condition had just begun to stabilise, and for us it was a very joyful moment. But a day later, there were explosions all around, it seemed that the earth was trembling.
“The children were still small and did not understand what was really happening. We told them that there were big balloons bursting on the street. But we were very frightened. We did not know where to run or what to do.
“It was very scary because we were bombed every day, but we could not run away because Zlata was still very weak and required constant supervision.”
In Ukraine's second city, schools, nurseries, hospitals and clinics were destroyed. Alina was terrified that, even though the hospital wasn’t hit, her daughter’s chances of survival could be devastated by a lack of vital medicines and food.
But Zlata was lucky. In March, she was among 21 seriously ill children who were transported with their families from Ukraine by rail to Lviv and on to Poland. They then boarded a flight to the UK, arranged by the Government, to have free cancer treatment on the NHS.
For the past nine months, Zlata has been receiving world-leading care at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Although his age meant initially they had to leave behind dad Vladymyr, 36, he has since been allowed to join them in their temporary new home.
Alina said: “When we moved here, Zlata tolerated her treatment more easily. She arrived still very weak but then she became better and it was easier to see the treatment working. We were warmly welcomed when we arrived in Alder Hey, and Zlata was surrounded by care and attention.
“Everyone was very kind to us. Very wonderful people work in this hospital and for us they have become real saviours. I was very happy that our child was being taken for treatment in England because I was told that this is a very good clinic.”
She added: “Before coming to Liverpool, I knew only that there was such a city somewhere far away in England. And I only know that The Beatles were from Liverpool.
“Every day I see people in shops and on the streets and they look like rays of sunshine. They always smile so brightly and they are so very friendly.”
Zlata celebrated Christmas at Alder Hey, with her parents and the staff on Ward 3B who have become like a second family to them.
For their incredible bravery, Zlata and her family were invited to switch on the hospital’s Christmas lights and at the event, they presented the 3B team with a special Christmas Stars award to thank them for the care they’ve received.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
Police find £500k of ecstasy in pink Ford Mustang
Teenager who stabbed violent racist thugs set free after appeal
Moment police swoop to arrest suspect in Elle Edwards murder probe
Son, 21, shot dead as he got Christmas presents out of his car
Woman, 20, killed in Kirkby flat 'adored' by everyone she worked with
