News | Sunday, 19 July 2009

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Hoping for a second miracle

Vlada Krevchenko, who turned 18 yesterday, has spinal cord injury after a lighting structure collapsed on her last September in an accident at a party at Fra Ben in Qawra. While she describes her recovery as a miracle, Vlada is hoping for a second one – to start walking again. By David Darmanin

Friends and relatives of Ukranian student Vlada Krevchenko launched a fund-raising campaign last Thursday: to fund stem cell treatments on the girl’s spinal chord. Expected to cost in the region of €150,000, if collected Vlada can start hoping for a cure to her paralysis, which has confined her to a wheelchair for over ten months now.
“My friends and I had decided to go to a party in Qawra just a few days before my orientation day at St Aloysius’ Sixth Form,” she said, recounting the dreaded night of the accident.
“All I can remember is that as I drew closer to the stage, I suddenly lost consciousness. I then woke up in an ambulance on my way to hospital. Somebody told me that a scaffolding structure had collapsed, hitting me. Some other people, including a friend, were hit too, although they only suffered cosmetic injuries.”
Vlada and her mother came to live in Malta in 2000. Her first four months at Sixth Form, where she studies accounts, economics and finance, had to be spent at Mater Dei – right during her recovery – were she managed to keep up with her course work without attending any lectures.
“I have my friends to thank for this. I wouldn’t say this incident ruined my life. If anything, it actually enriched it because I became wiser. But I admit, I was depressed throughout the first few weeks at hospital and I did not want my friends to see me in that state. But then I realised that ultimately there’s nothing to be ashamed of when you’re injured.”
Vlada describes her recovery as “a miracle”, especially when considering that “on the first day after the accident all I could move was my eyes.”
Although wheelchair bound, Vlada can manage most of her daily routine independently. “It only took me four months to be in a fit enough state to go back home. I think my recovery was quite speedy.”
After researching extensively on her condition, Vlada chose to give stem cell research a try, pending the collection of enough funds to foot a hefty bill at the Neurovita Clinic in Moscow – one of the highest regarded hospitals for this type of neurological treatment. It is not said, however, that this recent development in medicine will guarantee her total recovery.
“A recent article showed that on average, stem cell treatment for spinal chord injuries regain mobility in 11 out of 100 patients,” she said, adding that “stem cells are a very debated subject in medicine”.
Some clinics offering stem cell treatment do so by extracting cells from frozen embryos, which despite its life-saving properties attracts the condemnation of the Catholic Church. Neurovita however, only extracts cells from the body of the same patient it is curing.
Stem cell treatment may not be the only available option for Vlada’s cure, although it may very well be her safest bet. “Nobody is certain on when I will regain mobility, if I ever will. But some do recover,” Vlada said.
Asked whether she blames anyone for her injuries, Vlada said she doesn’t believe anyone wished to hurt her intentionally.
“Still, if I had to put a ladder on my balcony, and this ladder falls on a passer-by – even though causing an injury to someone would not have been my intention – I would still feel responsible for what happened. Safety laws are also there to be respected. While I was in hospital I met a lot of people who could not talk about how they got injured because of other people’s negligence. I hope this campaign also helps to raise awareness in the workplace as well as in public places.”
SonLit, the company that had been contracted by Fra Ben to install the defective light mounting, are being arraigned by the police in a criminal court, and Vlada is expected to testify in the first hearing later on this month. “In a separate case, I have filed a court case through my lawyers, but they’re not of the opinion that I should divulge who I am suing,” she said.
Vlada’s lawyers started procedures for compensation as early as last October, but court procedures have not yet started. Should a court decide in her favour, it may take years until she receives compensation, and Vlada will not take a “wait-and-see” approach. Her treatment cannot wait that long as doctors have advised her to start the stem cell treatment programme before the end of the year. Otherwise the possibility of success would diminish as time goes by.
“If I collect more money than what I need, I will donate them to stem cell research or to a person who needs a similar intervention,” she said. “My initial idea was to start a foundation for this cause, but for now we’ve decided to take a step at a time.”

ddarmanin@mediatoday.com.mt

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