“He can’t call me “mom”, so I read this cherished word in his eyes!”

My only son has been in this unbearable condition for thirty years now. Do you understand my pain and my helplessness? No, you don't, and I beg God that none of you will ever know this grief! Looking at my son's torment for thirty years is... this... this is the harshest sentence, a heavy cross, which is already very hard for me to bear alone. That’s why, I want you to hear my plea. Talking about it out loud is as hard as the suffering itself. But, if I don’t speak out now, if you don’t help me, don’t support me, we will perish...” - Mrs. Lali Koplatadze cannot hold back her tears, telling us about her misfortune.

Yes, misfortune! How else to call the life of a helpless, almost unconscious, bedridden son who is already 32 years old, and he cannot even call his mother? He can't even smile heartily. His eyes look into endless space, as if they are looking for salvation there. Only mother comes to soothe and relieve his unbearable pain.

It was hard for Lali to talk to us. But there was no other way out, and we still recorded the interview. How else could we bring this story to you?!

 "He's so skinny, just bag of bones"

Lali (64-year-old): My Mamuka is thirty-two years old, and for almost thirty of them he is in this condition: he can neither sit, nor walk, nor talk. He can't even turn over on his own. There is no question of eating on his own. He has atrophy of the cerebral cortex, problems with the lungs, spine, stomach, intestines, pharynx, teeth. Is there anything left that does not bother him? 

In such a state, when his body stopped developing at two and a half years, it is difficult for him to fight for life. Three times a day, or even more often, he has epileptic attacks. I have to be by his side all the time. I can't trust my son to anyone Because he's my only son! Whatever he is, he is dearer to me than anyone in the world. I will die if anything happens to him. God, I don't even want to imagine... (Cries).

“This is my only son, and he is dearer to me than life!”

Lali: I gave birth to Mamuka not at a very young age. We have been waiting for his appearance for a long time. He was a long-desired child. He was born perfectly healthy: his weight was 4.2 kilograms, height - 51 centimeters.

He developed well up to two and a half years, he was even ahead of his peers both in physical and mental development. Little Mamuka was a very smart and beautiful child. I am not saying this because he is my son. He loved to listen to different stories. He didn’t fall asleep without listening to a fairy tale or a story by Nodar Dumbadze.

“Who could have imagined then what suffering awaited my boy?!”

Mamuka had a well-developed visual memory. One day he went up to his grandfather and pointed to a fairy tale with his finger: "Here, read this one." His grandfather was blind, he did not see what the baby was showing him, so he started telling a different story, as if he was reading. Mamuka got angry and told grandfather that no one should deceive children, that deceivers were bad people. Lord, how happy we were then! Until that damned morning of the November 5 turned everything upside down...

Mamuka's unaccustomed excitement woke me up. The child turned his head strangely several times and froze on the pillow. Back then, I knew nothing about seizures. So, it was seizure... We called an ambulance and rushed to the hospital. All this happened in the 90s, when nothing worked normally. We were redirected to another clinic, then to a third one. Mamuka's condition was getting more and more severe.

He went into cardiac arrest while we were in the ambulance. And in the clinic, there was a cardiac arrest too. Lord, it was horrible... It's hard to even recall that. Then we lived in hospital for six months. My boy was on a ventilator. Gradually, his condition improved in the sense that there was no threat to his life. But even so, his situation was invidious.

“It's hard when he can't say what he wants. But I guess myself, because mother and son are connected by invisible threads.

Lali: He suffered from tuberculous meningoencephalitis in such a way that we did not even understand. He had no temperature, nothing to indicate an approaching danger. Then his cerebral cortex started getting destroyed. The child has stopped developing. We were discharged from the hospital. Since then, we have been frequent guests of hospitals. We probably spent half of those 30 years there. But what can we do? The main thing is that my Mamuka lives.

"Mom loves you the most!"

Lali: My husband could not stand such grief and died two years later. And soon my mom and older brother left. That's it. As they say, troubles never come alone. My father was blind, but he still helped me in his own way. Then he left us too. I still have a younger brother, but he is also sick - he had tuberculosis twice, he is very weak. Basically, I don't have anyone. And I'm not young anymore - I'm 64 years old, retired. I have high blood pressure, goiter, but I don't care about myself. Why am I even talking about this?! Thank God that I am still alive, and my son can rely on me. If something happens to me, who will take care of Mamuka? The end will come for my boy...

 “Who, besides me, will carry my son in his arms?”

Lali: Eh, you can't even call it existence. Our income is my pension, Mamuka's disability pension and social allowance. How should this amount be enough with today's prices? We use the social canteen. I can be content with what they give. But Mamuka? He is not recommended to have such food. So, I try to somehow “ennoble” the lunch brought from there. But I cannot always do that.

“He loves eating and his face lights up. But it is difficult for him to swallow ... "

In short, we have a very hard time. It's hard to tears. For a woman my age, this is the hardest life I could ever imagine...

"One potato for breakfast, lunch and dinner"

When Mamuka was younger and there were not so many sores, I worked. We somehow managed to cope. But over time, things got worse… Then I lost my job and my apartment.

Lali: It is mortgaged to a private person. I became a victim of a scam. Can you imagine what kind of a person you have to be to do this with a mother like me? Heartless!

This is our kin, and I don’t want to talk about it... But still he does not have any sense of shame!  So, one day, we will probably be kicked from here. I don’t want to think what will happen to us in the street... Where should we go?

“The roof is leaking, but soon we may even find ourselves in the street”

Lali: We were financed twice for medications, and once we received financial aid in the amount of two hundred lari. That's it. You will probably agree that this is minuscule, but it is better than nothing! While I was able to work, I did not ask anyone for help - neither the state, nor the people. I worked hard for my son. It's just a mother's duty. But I'm already old, I can't do it anymore, it's hard for me physically and morally. The worsening of Mamuka's state broke me. 

My son's state worsened gradually: at first, he developed bedsores, an infection set in, then it became difficult for him to swallow, he started having stomach problems. Then he developed lung disease. We went through Covid. Covid finally worsened his condition. Do you see the sputum aspirator? We use it several times a day.

 “We have to do this procedure several times a day”

The oxygen concentrator was financed by the state. Without it, Mamuka would not have survived to this day. This is so hard to us to live from day to day! Medications, medical devices, procedures and… hospitals! Recently, two more problems have been added to this. His spine got curved to the left, and it became completely impossible to turn the child over (she always calls him that. - Ed.) on the right side. I know it's very dangerous. I can’t take him to examinations: there is no money!

“The curvature of the spine has been added to our countless problems”

And the second problem is the problem with his teeth. He cries, screams, cannot calm down. Oh dear, a toothache is such a terrible thing! Probably, it is even worse for such a patient. Removing his teeth is associated with certain difficulties. He may not survive this. I'm very scared to think about it. I'm scared to think about tomorrow. Will it come for us?

Lali: Perhaps each of us must bear his own cross. It is all in the hands of God But now I feel so helpless, I feel so lonely - I have no support. I can't look ahead. I don't want to see anything that might be even worse...

"Don't be afraid, my boy, mom will always be with you!" 

***

We wanted to somehow cheer up this brave woman, to say a lot of consoling words, but then we realized that our common good deeds would say everything better than us. Our dear readers! Let's extend a hand of kindness to one more person and become his Guardian Angel in the most difficult moments.

You can visit the Koplatadze family at: Tbilisi, Monk Gabriel Salos Avenue 5th lane, building six, apartment 70.

If you have a heavy heart because of everyday problems or unresolved issues, as a distraction just see our posts on Facebook, or better call any of our beneficiaries, and all your problems will seem unimportant to you, compared with the problems of those to whom you helped in the most difficult moment of their lives.

Our problems are noting if compared... Here are true misfortunes, in front of your eyes! Just thank the Lord for what you have. You are the happiest person in the world! Remember this and help those in need!

Every time you can help someone, just do it and rejoice that God answers someone's prayers through you! We are sure that together we can warm their hearts and give them confidence in the future!

Please don’t forget to repost our story. Let your friends know about the grief of this family! It’s extremely important!

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 Koplatadze family)

You can also transfer money from our website.

It is also possible to transfer money from 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://goo.gl/GY2Gus).

We have already helped thousands of disadvantaged people! Let’s support this family too! And who knows, maybe someday we ourselves will need help of strangers! Life is always unpredictable!

We have good news! Now you can read the stories of our beneficiaries on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chernovetskyi.fund/ and Telegram: https://t.me/ChernovetskyiFund.

Even if you dial once this special number, it might save someone's life: 0901200270! God bless you!