Lord, save all the children in the world! Every kid deserves a happy childhood and a happy future! And we, friends, will do everything in our power so that the children around do not suffer! Because Georgians, like no one in the world, can empathize and support their neighbors!

But, unfortunately, as it often happens in life, when it rains, it pours. “It was March, and there were two months left before Nikusha’s sixth birthday. He had a fever and he was dozing. Suddenly, my son's body began to twitch violently, so that the bed shook ... At first, I thought it was an earthquake. I got very scared when his face turned blue and he started drooling. I couldn't wake him up. Nikusha began to shake even harder. I have never been so scared, but I managed to concentrate and call emergency” says Mzia.

Another diagnosis made by doctors - "epilepsy" - shattered the mother's dreams: Nikusha is bedridden, he is unable to sit, he cannot stand and hold his head, he lost the ability to speak.

- Mzia, please tell me in detail about Nikusha's health status. When did the health problems start?

Mzia: Unfortunately, Nikusha is considered to be a premature baby, he was born in the thirtieth week of pregnancy with a very low weight - he weighed only one kilogram and two hundred grams. Can you imagine that?! They warned me about a possible preterm birth, because of a viral disease I had during pregnancy, but the doctors assured me that the baby would be born healthy. Alas, from the first day of his birth, problems began - anemia. Nikusha spent two weeks on a ventilator. The Lord had mercy on us then, the baby managed to get out, but because of his law weight we had to move to the Zhvania clinic where they put Nikusha into an incubator for two months. But, alas, during this period he did not gain much weight - only 700 grams! Even then, I realized that Nikusha was not entirely healthy, but the doctors assured me that Nikusha's health problems were easy-to-solve. They said that he only needed attention and timely consultations with doctors, visits to a neurologist. I followed their advice - we visited a pediatrician, a neurologist and other specialists regularly. Nikusha got a massage course, but despite all my efforts, the baby had a developmental delay.  Throughout this period, they kept convincing me that the only reason for such a scenario was that the child was born prematurely. They said that over time he will certainly catch up with his peers in development.

- What did your intuition, your inner voice tell you then?

Mzia: My inner voice told me that the polyclinic doctors may be wrong, that I need to seek help from other specialists. On the other hand, it seemed to me that there was nothing catastrophic in Nikusha's development: a six-month-old baby was able to sit, then stand, walk with my help, talk! He could string 10-12 words together, he communicated with me! He didn't need diapers; he could say he just wanted to go to the toilet. But the mother's heart did not rejoice for long. Once, his pupils dilated greatly! He felt sick, but I did not manage to take him to the doctor immediately. Our financial situation then (Nikusha was about one year old) left much to be desired. Nikusha's father was recently released from prison, no one worked in our family. We did not even have a roof over our heads - my mother-in-law sold the apartment to get her son released from prison, we had almost no money to pay for the rent. I don’t even know how we managed to make ends meet then.

 - I can imagine what you felt then, and I am really sorry for you. Did doctors prescribe any treatment course to him?

Mzia: “Why did you bring this child to me? I can't prescribe any medication to him now! Do you know, at all, what's wrong with your child? Due to his illness, he will never be able to go to kindergarten, school; he will never play with his peers! Nikusha has cerebral palsy,” the neurologist said gesturing, without blinking an eye.

But I did not lose heart. We almost settled in the Zhvania hospital - we were under medical supervision there. The doctors assured us that Nikusha was suffering from a mild form of the disease, but the child's condition could get worse at any time. Partially their prediction came true: my boy, for some reason, began to forget the words. The last one that flew out of his mouth was “dad”. I have no idea what made him stop talking. This was not the last blow - my son was almost six years old when he had his first epileptic attack. I've never been so scared ...

- How is Nikusha now? Does he take any rehabilitation course?

Mzia: After Nikusha was diagnosed with epilepsy, we switched to a new problem. Doctors prescribed a treatment course to him. We are still taking medication that helps to prevent the child from epileptic seizures. Doctors assess his condition as stable now. But Nikusha had to pay dearly for that: the epilepsy medicine almost blocked the child's brain. It is very difficult now for Nikusha to develop. Hope springs eternal - the events of recent years made a timid joy spark in me. Three times a week, we have rehabilitation sessions at the Kamillians Rehabilitation Center; on the rest of the weekdays, First Step Center employees come to us. Thank God, both programs are funded by the state. Thanks to the efforts of specialists, Nikusha manages to stay afloat. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we are temporarily deprived of these services.

- Hopefully, we will be back to the usual way of life very soon. What do you think, is the most difficult thing in raising your child?

Mzia: Perhaps the most difficult thing in my situation is that Nikusha does not talk, so he cannot explain what worries him. In most cases, I manage to guess what he wants. I always know when he is hungry, I understand when he is cold, or hot, or when he wants to sleep. But sometimes, he just starts crying because he cannot explain to me what hurts him. At such moments, I dream of having someone next to me who would just hug and support me. Quite often, I just have no one to leave my child with while I will go shopping. It is not an easy task to lift alone a boy who weighs more than 40 kilograms. But, perhaps, the hardest thing is the psychological moment, the routine. Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine that I am somewhere else. But, thank God, fits of despair do not happen to me often. I learned to rejoice that my son is just breathing, looking at me, that I can also look at him.

- What advice would you give to parents who found themselves in a similar situation?

Mzia: First of all, do not lose heart and do not give up despite any circumstances. Our children need healthy, strong, cheerful, well-groomed, kind, happy mothers! I would ask all the parents to take care of themselves, because our children will simply perish without us. They need their parents like air! Take care of yourself and always go forward!

- Mzia, where did you meet your husband, did you marry him for love?

Mzia: We met at my friend's place. Her mother once cooked khinkali and invited me to visit. My future husband was among guests, he is a close friend of my friend's brother. We liked each other from the first glance. I can't say that I fell head over heels with him, but he seemed to be a nice person. He romanced me for about six months. He introduced me to his relatives, and once invited me to his place, where I had to stay. Two years later, my husband got captured and sent to prison. I stayed with my mother-in-law, but not for long. She sold the apartment, and with that money she got her son out of prison. A year later, Nikusha was born. It is more difficult for men psychologically to get used to a child. I cannot say that he did not love his son, but he was jealous of me for him. He did not allow me to put Nikusha in the baby carriage, threatening to break it. I had to carry the boy in my arms all the time. Before the birth of the baby, our relationship was far from being ideal, but after that, it became even worse. It was because of him that many times I found myself in the hospital with bruises and beatings. We have always lived only on a social allowance and pension.  But I still was always afraid to be left alone, I grasped at every straw, but finally, my patience ran out. Together with my boy, I left my husband. We hid from him in different places, but he always managed to find us, refusing to divorce. Finally, after much effort, we officially got divorced in 2012. The same year, this ward of the former railway hospital became our shelter.

- Who supported you during that time? Why nobody helps you now?

Mzia: Of course, I have relatives. To be honest, I grew up almost without a father - he left us for another woman when I was ten. Mom raised four of us strictly, she could not come to terms with some of the circumstances of our life, forgive us for our mistakes. She wanted me to leave Nikusha to his father or hand the boy over to an orphanage so that I could arrange my life. But I'm a mother, Nikusha has no one but me, I couldn't leave my son. Mom is not able to help me, she suffers from various diseases, lives in the countryside. My sisters have always helped me, but now they emigrated abroad, and my brother left long ago too. You know how it happens, everyone has their own life, their families, their own problems. That's how I was left alone, alone with my son.

- Who would you like to especially mention from those who have ever helped you?

Mzia: Perhaps it will surprise you, but I would like to mention all those people who helped me when I first addressed your Fund for help. These people made me believe that good will surely triumph over evil, that there are so many selfless people living in Georgia and beyond! This period became a turning point in my life, after that everything began to improve more or less ...

- How did you learn about the Fund, how did we help you then?

Mzia: It was shortly after we moved into this room. There was not even a door here, rats were running on the concrete floor, the wind was blowing around the room, and we slept on the cold floor. I managed to install electricity somehow, we could explode at any minute, we had no water. Improving of our living conditions was out of question. My only thoughts were how to get money to buy medications, diapers and food for Nikusha. My neighbor saw a story about the Fund on TV and she advised me to write to you. According to your colleagues, the post about us was a real sensation then, a lot of people responded. They helped us not only with what I asked for. It was you who managed to renovate our room and make it comfortable. Nikusha still sleeps on the bed you brought back then. Thanks to your Fund, we have electricity and water, a washing machine, a mixer, and a meat grinder. With the money raised we bought a lot of food, medications, diapers, one can't list everything.

- We are so happy that we managed to help you then. Does the state support you in this difficult situation?

Mzia: Today we completely depend on the state: we live on social allowance, Nikusha's pension, food vouchers - 400 GEL total. Most of this modest income is spent on Nikusha's medications and diapers. A social canteen prevents us from starving to death There was a time when we lost the status of socially unprotected persons. It took a very long struggle to get social allowance back again.

- Did you ever suppose that you would find yourself in such a situation? What did you dream about when you started a family?

Mzia: Who would ever suppose that? Not of course. I got married at a pretty mature age. I dreamed that I would take my son to dance and swimming classes. Maybe in the next life ...

- In what do you see the salvation? Do you believe in God?

Mzia: Yes, of course! I think that my faith, my hope that everything will work out, do not let me lose heart. I also believe in the kindness of people: Your Fund brought me together with many unselfish people, they warmed my heart with their kind words! I never expected that strangers could support their neighbor like that!

- What made you address our Fund again? What is your main problem right now?

Mzia: The Fund and kind people made me believe that miracles can happen. I cannot complain and even ask for anything. But we ran into a very painful problem: Nikusha was almost left without a wheelchair, which he needs like air. The child has grown and does not fit into the old one. Moreover, using it can seriously harm his health. I cannot take him out for a walk carrying him in my arms. It means that Nikusha will not be able to leave the house at all. Despite my great desire to collect the necessary amount of money for buying a wheelchair along with all the necessary accessories - such as an orthopedic pillow - I am not able to.

- What else can help Nikusha to improve his health condition? What do you personally need to make your life easier?

Mzia: I don't even know if it's worth talking about it at all, but since you asked ... There is a way to help Nikusha get on his feet. Tendons surgery is considered to be very effective. The state can fully pay the cost of the operation, but it doesn’t finance the rehabilitation course. But there is no point for Nikusha to be operated on if there is no chance to take the rehabilitation course (he needs at least five rehabilitation sets), and I am unable to pay even for one set (one rehabilitation course set costs about 1200 GEL). I feel embarrassed to ask for anything for myself. Actually, this is somehow related to Nikusha, although it is directly related to my favorite activity - I like to cook. I cook on someone else's gas stove, which they are planning to take away soon. Maybe someone has an old gas stove? I see that during our conversation you got a little bit cold. Nikusha also freezes. As you can see for yourself, we heat the room with an ordinary stove, which cannot heat even such a small space!

- What would you like to wish to our readers?

Mzia: Never lose faith, and always believe that everything in life will definitely work out! You need to love and appreciate whatever you have! Health is the most important thing!

***

Dear friends, once you have already opened your kind hearts and gave Mzia belief in the miracles! Unfortunately, she still needs our support! Nikusha needs a wheelchair because without it he cannot even take a breath of fresh air! He also needs medications, diapers, food. It is in our power to make Mzia's dream come true that Nikusha will be able to get on his feet and dance! Each of us can just call her and cheer up a brave mother!

You can visit Mzia and help Nikusha. Their address is: Tbilisi, 13 Tevdore Mghvdeli Str.

Or you can call Mzia and cheer her up with your attention and your kind words. Phone: 557 91 62 76.

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: The Kharaishvili family).

You can also transfer money from our website.

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

We have already helped many disadvantaged people! Let’s support Kharaishvili family too, 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.