One blonde with blue eyes, the other brunette with green eyes. Both are beautiful, cheerful and optimistic. I am mini-me. You look at Diana, you see Alexandra nine years later, you look at Alexandra, this is Diana as a child. Diana is 23 years old, she is a 4th year medical student. Her sister Alexandra is 13 years old and wants to continue the eighth grade and enter a good high school. If they were going to pick cherries, Alexandra would be at the top of the tree and Diana would be six years old.

They were always close, Diana took care of the younger, and looked at the older sister with admiration. The last two years, spent in hospitals, undergoing procedures and therapy, have burned them beyond repair. The connection between them is felt in small ironies, which are followed by laughter and contemplative looks. One thing is clear: mutual respect. About an older sister for a little fighter who never complained about anything and still found the energy to encourage those around him. About the little sister for the big one, who gave years of her young life, put all her energy and all her love to save the little one’s life.

In January 2020, Oleksandra’s left leg began to hurt, and soon she could no longer walk. Doctors initially said it was growing pains and prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. But the pain continued, so the parents persisted, researched, looked for answers. The diagnosis came out of the blue. Bone cancer, inoperable. Simultaneously with the disease, a pandemic began.

The treatment in Romania was a bad experience and didn’t work, so the family desperately looked for ways to transfer her abroad. They finally managed to reach Stuttgart, where they stayed from May 2020 to January 2021.

Oleksandra and Diana are two children who had to grow up. Diana entered medical school at the beginning of the pandemic, and the first two years of courses were held online. After the shock of the diagnosis given to Oleksandra in February 2020, the whole family mobilized urgently: the girls’ mother, a nurse by profession, went on care leave, and the father had to continue going to work to provide for the family’s existence, despite that she is at home or in Germany for treatment. Diana returned the medical part. For two years, he communicated with doctors from several countries, sent medical documents, read, received information, analyzed. She understands the medical language and finally, together with the family and specialists, decides which way to go, which procedures are most effective for her sister, which hospitals can take the case. Diana realizes that the responsibility and burden are huge, but she will best cope with these problems in the family. And he does it seriously and faithfully at the age of 23.

During these years, Oleksandra underwent parallel chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Her hair fell out, she lost weight, she was bedridden and in a wheelchair. All this time, he encouraged children in the salon, learned to play the guitar from volunteer animators who work with children with cancer. A bright smile and optimism never left her. Her parents and sister were always by her side, her mother was with her in the hospital, her father visited them as often as the pandemic and work allowed. Then gradually the hair began to grow, as well as strength. Oleksandra managed to get up from the cart and stopped. Resuming social life was a double challenge due to the pandemic and almost no immunity.

A routine examination carried out in October 2022 showed that Oleksandra should fight again. For two years, from 2020 to 2022, the Rusov family managed to support Alexandra’s treatment from their own savings, with the help of family and close friends. The relapse of the disease in October 2022 and the urgency of starting adequate treatment forced them to publicize Alexandra’s case in order to raise the necessary 200,000 euros.

We asked Oleksandra what she would like most. I would expect them to want the latest phone model, an item, or maybe a trip. The answer was from a grown child who had been through too much in his 13 years:

“I wish there was therapeutic support for children with cancer like me. I feel the need for a support group where we can meet regularly and talk about our experiences. Let the experts listen and guide us. Therapists came to my hospital. If I wanted to talk openly with them about my fears and thoughts, they quickly turned the conversation to positive topics. Some gave me coloring sheets. There was no difference in how they approached me or a five-year-old child, and it was not normal for me. Many times I felt like an object. In Germany, I was treated like a human being, and that made me happy. I look around and see how happy children my age are to be able to go to school and do extracurricular activities, and I’m either at home because of my lack of immunity or in the hospital for treatment, I feel stuck, limited.”

These are the thoughts of a 13-year-old child.

Oleksandra likes to read science fiction literature, she is a fan of Harry Potter. She has been interested in all things makeup and beauty for a while, and she is passionate about music.

Oleksandra needs financial support NOW. Not on Christmas or Easter. He has a moral right to state-of-the-art treatment prescribed by specialists to save his life. Oleksandra, Diana and their parents fought together and once defeated the disease. Now they have to win again.

Do you help too? Think of a loved one who is NOT sick and make a donation out of love for them. Oleksandra sends you a calm smile.

Donations can be made to the following accounts:

RAIFFEISEN BANK

EURO

IBAN: RO36 RZBR 0000 0600 2162 3664

NAME: RUS ALIN

SWIFT CODE: RZBRROBU

RAIFFEISEN BANK

RON

IBAN: RO53 RZBR 0000 0600 2162 3649

OWNER: RUSSIAN ALIN CLAUDIOU

SWIFT CODE: RZBRROBU

BANK OF TRANSYLVANIA

RON

IBAN: RO58 BTRL RONCRT 0348 112601

OWNER: RUS ANAMARIA

SWIFT CODE: BTRLRO22

BANK OF TRANSYLVANIA

EURO

IBAN: RO08 BTRL EURCRT 0348 112601

OWNER: RUS ANAMARIA

SWIFT CODE: BTRLRO2