The family of a little girl battling cancer who fled the war in Ukraine for treatment in the UK have thanked her NHS “saviours”.
Four-year-old Zlata Tkachenko had just left intensive care after treatment for leukaemia in Kharkiv when Russians bombs began to rain down on the city.
She and her mother Alina were forced to take shelter in a makeshift underground ward along with other patients and parents desperately seeking safety.
Alina recalled: “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.”
With schools, nurseries, hospitals and clinics destroyed in Ukraine’s second city, 32-year-old Alina was terrified that, even if 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 here, 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 in Liverpool.
Although his age meant initially they had to leave behind her 36-year-old dad Vladymyr, 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 continued: “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 will celebrate 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.
