Funny little Nutsa (8-year-old) puzzled me with this question right at the doorstep "You are a doctor? Or maybe you are a magician? Mom said that you were coming to help us! - the girl does not stop. - You know, I will also become a doctor when I grow up, and I will definitely come up with a cure for Mate, but this will take a very long time ... Maybe you can cure him, otherwise he won’t walk and  play with us at all. Look what funny shoes he has! "

It happened so, that in a poor but very kind Georgian family of Markoidzes, baby Mate (2-year-old) was born very sick. The baby was born with a whole lot of terrible diagnoses: bow-leggedness, mental retardation, blindness, lower jaw dysfunction, severe sepsis at birth ...

"He is not long for this world" - this was the doctors’ verdict... But mother's love can work miracles despite all the medicine laws. And now little Mate is already 2 years old. He makes his family happy by just being alive. Even though he can neither walk, speak, nor see ...

Khatuna (29-year-old) and Malkhaz (31-year-old) have four more children: Gia (3-year-old), Nutsa (8-year-old), Anastasia (9-year-old), and Anna-Maria (10-year-old). They live in desperate poverty, they have no toys, no clothes ... Where can they have those things from? In a situation when all the money of the unhappy family is spent for the treatment of the baby...

The Markoidze family addressed our Fund being in the depths of despair and hoping for the empathy of their kind compatriots ... And we have no doubt that their sad story will evoke a response in your hearts full of virtue!

- Khatuna, please tell us about your youngest son Mate. What’s wrong with him?

Khatuna: My little Mate was born sick. Sick is not the right word! The baby is 2 years old, he does not walk, does not talk, cannot eat ... He is blind in both eyes and does not react to anyone ... You cannot imagine how terrible it is! No one can remember all the diagnoses ... From the moment of his birth, everything has been just a blur. Countless doctors, intensive care units and people in white coats ... Just a nightmare ... In the hospital they gave us Mate with the words that he was not long for this world. We took him to Batumi, he spent 45 days in the intensive care unit, and they did not give us much hope either. Then we took the child to Turkey. Two clinics just refused to receive him, they said that the child was dying, but we still managed to stay in the third one. So we sold everything that we had - a tractor, cows ... Everything, everything, everything, got into credit, and not only we, but also our relatives. I had to bother absolutely everyone! Turkish doctors sent us to Georgia, saying that first we needed to put his legs in order, and then he was to be operated on his lower jaw. Do you know what they told us? That my little Mate shouldn't have been born at all! Imagine how it is for a mother to hear that! We also spent about three months in Tbilisi clinics, where we exhausted all the available funds, but with no results. They even refused to give us the child, they said he could hardly survive at home. But we still took Mate home. Thanks to my mother-in-law! Tsiuri is a holy woman, she is like a mother to me, she has never left us alone even for a minute. It was she who insisted that we should take the baby home. And now, when my husband and I work all day in the fields, it is she who takes care and looks after my poor boy.

- Khatuna, what specific diagnoses are we talking about and what are the doctors’ prognoses?

Khatuna: There is an exact diagnosis, regarding his legs - deformity of the ankle joint. He was operated on, and for some time his legs were in plaster. Now he wears special shoes with a holder, so that the legs wouldn’t not curve again. Mate is completely blind, we were told that both in Tbilisi and in Tsalka by his doctor in charge to whom we regularly take the child for consultations. Doctors' forecasts are not optimistic. They say that my boy will remain disabled for the rest of his life, but we don't want to believe that! The Lord is merciful, he will not leave his child!

- What is the most difficult thing in raising a sick child?

Khatuna: There is nothing worse in this world than to see how your child suffers... This is hellish torment! Everything is difficult, especially it’s difficult to realize that your child will never become well-functioning, he will not be able to live like normal people!

- Khatuna, what would you advise mothers in the same dire situation as yours?

Khatuna: I want to wish all of them fortitude and patience. The baby should feel that you are strong, should feel your love!

– What do you believe in? In what do you see the salvation?

Khatuna: My faith is infinite... I believe that the Almighty will have mercy, a miracle will happen, and my baby will get better despite the doctors' forecasts!

– Do you believe in the kindness of strangers?

Khatuna: Of course, I do. When we were in Turkey for Mate’s treatment, an acquaintance of ours, whom we had never seen before, transferred 3500 GEL to us. This money was given to her for her child’s christening. When she learned that my son was hanging between life and death, she just gave this money to us. You see? I mention her name in my prayers every single day! Because good deeds do not just disappear, I am sure the Lord will reward her a hundredfold for such a good deed!

- For what specific help did you address our Fund?

Khatuna: Probably, everyone understands that when there is a sick child in a family, this is an extremely heavy burden, not only from the moral point of view, but also financially. We exhausted all our resources, we sold everything we had... We got into debt, and nobody knows what other costs we will have to pay in the future. Each visit to the doctor costs a lot of money ... And we have four more children. We don't even have a TV, can you imagine that?! We cook food on a wood stove, we heat water for bathing there as well... We have absolutely nothing! No refrigerator, no washing machine ... And the house itself is about to collapse on our heads. I do not complain. The main thing at the moment is the health of our little Mate. We still hope that we can somehow help him ...

– Why did you decide to address us?

Khatuna: Because you really help many people! Your Fund has many friends, I'm sure they all are kind people, since they help so many suffering people and change their lives for the better ... My son really needs your help, we are not able to cope on our own!

– How did you meet your husband?

Khatuna: I was born and raised in another village, and Malkhaz had relatives there, he often came to visit them. So we met, fell in love, and then he just brought me to his family ... A wonderful family, to be honest! His parents became my parents. Nine years ago, a tragedy happened, my husband's 25-year-old brother died in a car accident, leaving his wife and two young children. Terrible! We still can't get over it ...

- Does this house belong to you?

Khatuna: This is the house which belongs to my parents-in-law. They themselves live next to us... But this house needs major repairs. The roof is leaking, the walls are crumbling ... I wish it would not collapse! The house is big, it needs maintenance, and we have absolutely no money for it.

- Do your parents or relatives help you?

Khatuna: Everyone has already helped us with whatever they could... My mother-in-law spends all day with the children, because my husband and I are engaged in agriculture and land cultivation requires a lot of time and efforts if you want at least something to grow. My mother gave us a cow for some time, so that the children would have natural dairy products ... Actually, that's all... My brother is also disabled, so there is no one else to expect any help from.

- And how did you imagine your future when you just started a family?

Khatuna: To be like everyone else. We just wanted to have a calm, measured family life. We did not make any huge plans. We wanted to have a lot of kids ... so that there would be always noise and fun at home. But our son's illness turned everything upside down, our quiet family life turned into a living hell and a constant search for funds for his treatment.

- We are so sorry!  Did you address anybody for help? The local government, for instance?

Khatuna: When we took Mate to Turkey, they refused to help us, saying that we took him there by our own. But when he had been operated on his ankles, they paid almost three quarters of the amount... Now we get Mate's disability pension and social allowance of 670 GEL from the state.

- What is this money enough for?

Khatuna: Taking into account our frequent visits to the doctors and the child’s treatment costs, it’s enough for nothing We can't even buy clothes for the children! They are wearing clothes one after another. I'm not talking about toys or treats ...

– What do your children eat? What is their everyday diet?

Khatuna: Thank God there is a cow. Otherwise, they would probably eat only potatoes! Fresh milk is a great help! At least some vitamins.

– Do you children go to school and kindergarten?

Khatuna: Sure! Girls Anna-Maria (10-year-old), Anastasia (9-year-old) and Nutsa (8-year-old) go to school. By the way, they study well! To be honest, now, due to the pandemic, the lessons were replaced by their father's phone. Laptops that are given to them in the first form are worthless, they go out of order very quickly, and you need money to fix them. Gia (3-year-old) is a wonderful baby, so affectionate, although he does not talk yet. He was named after his deceased uncle. It is difficult to explain to the children why their younger brother lies all the time, does not react to anything ... He cannot play with them ...

- Khatuna, can I talk to your children, please? ******* Anna-Maria, how are doing? How do you study? What is your favorite subject?

Anna-Maria (10-year-old): I study well, mom and grandma are always happy to see my good grades! Most of all I love mathematics, we have a very cool teacher! I also help my sisters with their homework! I'll be a math teacher too!

Anastasia (9-year-old): I love math too, and also the Georgian language! I love reading stories!

– What is your favorite story?

Anastasia: "Natsarkekia" (a Georgian fairy tale). He is smart and defeats the Dev (Giant) thanks to his cunning!

Nutsa (8-year-old): I love this tale too! Ask me too!

- Of course, I’ll ask everyone in turn, don’t worry, girls. Anastasia and Nutsa, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Anastasia: I will become a doctor and cure my brother! Because he is lying all the time, does not walk, does not talk to us and does not want to play ... Mom says that he is sick.

Nutsa: I will be a doctor too! Anastasia and I will be the best doctors in the world! This is our biggest dream!

- Are you dreaming about anything else, girls?

Anna-Maria: We want our brother to get well...

Nutsa: And many, many dolls and sweets too!

- And what does little Gia dream about?

Anastasia: Oh, Gia loves chocolate very much. When mommy buys it, he doesn’t want to share it with us. He is still little, and he does not understand that it is necessary to share chocolate between everyone... Mother does not have so much money to buy us a lot...

– Khatuna, what is your biggest dream?

Khatuna: I have only one dream - to put my son on his feet, I pray for this day and night. I need nothing else to be happy - just my children to be okay ...

– What do you think, you need most in your home?

Khatuna: We constantly need money for Mate's treatment, but we just don’t have it. And there is no place where to get any. All of our modest income is spent on visiting doctors. The rest of the children are deprived of everything because of that. They look like ragamuffins, they have no clothes or toys. I am not saying about our terrible living conditions. We will be grateful for any help ... God bless everyone who reads about us and takes our grief to heart ... Even if they are not able to help us in any way, they can just pray for the health of our Mate!

***

Friends, the Markoidze family found themselves in a difficult situation both morally and financially! It happened so that little Mate was born with a whole set of diseases. They need fabulous amounts of money for the child’s treatment, and this is an enormous burden for a modest Georgian family. We cannot remain indifferent to the misfortunes of the poor parents and we must help them to put their son on his feet!

The Markoidze family needs any help - be it diapers, clothes for kids or home appliances. We cannot leave them without support.

You can visit the Markoidze family yourself and provide them with whatever help you can. Their address is: Nagomari village, Ozurgeti Municipality.

Or call the grandmother of little Mate, who constantly looks after him, and cheer her up with kind words! Phone: 571 08 63 61.

Please repost our publication. Let your friends know about the grief of this family! It’s extremely important!

God gives us chances to care about people who are unable to take care of themselves. Do not pass by someone else's trouble! Those poor people are sent to us by heaven so that we could prove not by words, but in deeds that we trust in God!

Friends, there is one more request : if you know about the misfortune of a neighbor or friend do a godly deed, drop us an email at: office-fsp@fsp.ge

Our Fund’s accounts are: 

#GE15TB7194336080100003

#GE42LB0115113036665000

#GE64BG0000000470458000 

(purpose: Markoidze family).

You can also transfer money from our website.

It is also possible to transfer money from Nova Technology, TBCpay and ExpressPay terminals. (You can read more about rights and responsibilities of the Fund following the link https://goo.gl/GY2Gus ).

We have already helped many disadvantaged people! Let’s support the Markoidze family, as no one is immune to bad luck! And who knows, maybe someday we ourselves will need help of strangers!

One call saves life - 0901 200 270.