Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF)
Short Hills, New Jersey, Thursday, April 1, 2004

A few months after her birth, Marika Tkachyk was stricken with a mysterious but deadly virus that killed four other infants in the capital of Ukraine.

Doctors at the Kyiv City Hospital No. 2 were able to save Marika's life, but the virus gradually infected Marika's nasal cavity and destroyed the cartilage in her nose, forcing doctors to insert a breathing tube in the infant's throat so that she would not suffocate.

Hospitals in Ukraine are ill equipped to deal with such procedures, and Dr. Slupchinskyj volunteered to help in the next stage of her treatment. In his first visit to the Kyiv hospital, Slupchinskyj was impressed with the local doctors' skill and improvisational ability. "The Ukrainian medical team was very talented," said Slupchinskyj. "I saw them do things that I've never seen our doctors [in the United States] do."

Unfortunately, they lacked the technology available in many US facilities and Slupchinskyj arranged for her to be treated at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary. Even with U.S. doctors donating their services, the cost of the treatments is expected to reach $15,000.

Marika Tkachyk was brought to the United States under the auspices of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, an award-winning charity based in Short Hills, New Jersey that specializes in the treatment of children affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster. "In the wake of Chornobyl, many children in northern Ukraine are still living in areas contaminated with radioactive fallout, and many children are severely immune-depressed," said Alexander Kuzma, CCRF's Executive Director.

Although Marika's condition may not be directly related to Chornobyl, the Fund decided to intervene in her case. Thanks to several private donors, including employees of Johnson & Johnson's Division of Pharmaceutical Development and Research, CCRF was able to bring Marika and her mother, Vera Tkachyk to the US.

During her month-long treatment program, Marika and Mrs. Tkachyk will be staying with the Burachinsky family of Florham Park, New Jersey. Dr. Andrew Burachinsky is a cardiologist at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark and a member of CCRF's Medical Advisory Committee. His wife Valerie has been the Vice President of CCRF since the Fund was established in 1990. Mrs. Burachinsky has helped to organize many of the Fund's 30 medical airlifts, delivering millions of dollars worth of medical supplies and technology to partner hospitals in Ukraine.

"In most cases, it is more cost effective to treat the children in Ukraine," said Alex Kuzma. "We can deliver new technology and resources that can improve the quality of care and save more children's lives. In Marika's case, however, we felt compelled to bring her here to make sure she received the specialized surgery she could not get in her home country."

"Marika's case is quite exceptional", said Mrs. Burachinsky. "This is the first child we have brought to the United States in many years." In 1990, the Fund brought eight children to actor Paul Newman's Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Connecticut. One of those youngsters has fully recovered from leukemia and remained in the United States. He is now attending college in New Jersey.

"We are very grateful to Dr. Slupchinskyj and the staff at New York Eye & Ear Infirmary for taking on this complicated case," said Mrs. Burachinsky.

"Considering the ordeal Marika has gone through, she is a remarkably calm and sweet child. Her mother Vera is a lovely person, and she is very grateful to all the donors who have stepped forward to help her daughter."