Maxim has relapsed.
The nightmare we thought was over has returned. After the bone marrow transplant from his father and the long-awaited remission, we finally felt like we could breathe again. We started living as a family, watching Maxim go to speech therapy, swim in the pool, and play with the other children. His smile returned, and with it, our hope. For a while, it felt like the world was opening up again, like we could finally leave behind the darkness that had surrounded us for so long.
But everything came crashing down in the spring of 2025. Maxim started complaining of pain in his back, and I could see the discomfort in his face. The joy we had started to rebuild shattered with that pain. We rushed him to the Roshal Center by ambulance, where the doctors suspected a compression fracture or osteoporosis. We hoped for the best, but the reality was much worse. They performed a bone marrow puncture, and the results confirmed our worst fears: the cancer had returned. Maxim’s body was once again under siege, and I felt like I was losing him all over again.
This is our second battle with cancer. We have already completed two rounds of chemotherapy, and for now, there is a temporary remission. But it feels fragile, like a thread that we are clinging to with everything we have. I’m not sure how much longer it will last, and that fear eats away at me every day.
The doctors have told us that the only way to secure a chance for Maxim is through immunotherapy. This is the treatment we need to help strengthen the remission and prepare for the next step: a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. But our doctors are not acting. They are silent, waiting for decisions from others who haven’t even met Maxim. We can’t afford to wait; we can’t afford to let the disease spiral out of control again. To refuse treatment means sending Maxim back to the same painful cycle he already endured, where the relapse is almost inevitable.
Desperate, I reached out to Dr. Irina Zaidman in Israel. She has treated many children like Maxim and has helped them survive. Her words gave us a glimmer of hope. She said, “There is a chance, but the child needs treatment: immunotherapy and a transplant from a suitable donor.” We were given an estimate for the treatment at Hadassah Hospital, and it was staggering—25 million rubles. It is an amount that is simply beyond our reach.
We are asking for your help. Maxim is my everything, my world. I will not let this disease take him from us. I won’t give up, no matter how difficult the fight may be. We are fighting for his life, and we cannot do this alone. Every donation brings us one step closer to saving Maxim. With your support, we can give him the chance to fight, to live, and to grow up.
Please, help us give Maxim the future he deserves. Help us get out of this darkness and into the light. Your donation can make a life-changing difference for Maxim. We need your help to get to Israel, to receive the immunotherapy and the transplant that will save his life.
Thank you for being there for Maxim and for us. Please spread the word, share our story, and help us raise the funds we need. Together, we can give Maxim the chance to see the world again, to grow up and live the life every child deserves.