(NAPSA)—At 6 years old, Nastya is already a hero in her homeland, the Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where she risked her own life for her youngersister. In March 2005, Nastya was home alone with her 2-year-old sister, Lyuda, when fire erupted. The quick-thinking girl plucked her little sister from the flames and carried her to safety. Lyuda had minor injuries. Nastya, however, sustained third-degree burns over nearly 90 percent of her body. Word reached the Ukraine’s newly installed president, Viktor Yushchenko, who—himself left disfigured and in pain after an assassination attempt—offered his supportto thelittle girl. President Yushchenko sought the best treatment available in the Ukraine for Nastya, but the small country’s facilities could not offer the advanced treatment she so desperately needed. It was then that a charitable organization in that country—familiar with the work of Shriners Hospitals for Children—recommended Nastya be treated at Shriners Burns Hospital-Boston. “When Nastya came to us, she was very sick,” recalls Robert Sheridan, M.D., Assistant Chief of Staff at Shriners Burns HospitalBoston. “She had very deep burns and infections, and was on andoff of the breathing machine.” At the hospital, Nastya received numerous procedures at no expense to her family—or any third party. President Yushchenko tracked her progress, even visiting her bedside while on a trip to the states to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. President Yushchenko told reporters that he is grateful to Shriners Hospitals for making it possible for Nastya to be brought CouraGe—The tale of Nastya’s bravery reached Ukraine’s newly installed president. to Boston for treatment. After several months of treatment, Dr. Sheridan determined that Nastya was well enough to return home. Nastya recently attended her first day of school in the Ukraine— accompanied by First Lady Kateryna Yushchenko, who vowed to support the girl’s family and to found burn centers there modeled after Shriners Hospitals. For more information on Shriners’ network of 22 hospitals that provide medical care and services totally free of charge to children with orthopaedic problems, burns and spinal cord injuries, write to Shriners International Headquarters, Public Relations Dept., 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607 or visit the Web site at www.shrinershq.org. Treatment is provided to children under age 18 without regard to race, religion or relationship to a Shriner. If you know a child that Shriners can help, call 1-800-2375055 in the United States or 1800-361-7256 in Canada.
