Girl injured in accident last year seeks funds for treatment

A fund collection campaign was launched this morning by 17-year-old Ukranian Vladislava Kravchenko to help her undergo stem cell treatment to regain mobility.

Ms Kravchenko was involved in an accident at Fra Ben in Qawra last year when a lighting structure collapsed and injured her spinal cord.

She had to spend four months in hospital and has been in a wheelchair since September.

She said this morning she had retained a very positive outlook on life and was determined to walk again.

The treatment, which will cost around €150,000, is highly specialised and experimental and can only be done at the Neuro Vita clinic in Moscow.

Stem cells will be taken from her bone marrow and the risks are that the treatment will not work and the cells will develop into cancerous ones.

About 360 people have undergone this treatment and it has about a 10 percent success rate.

Doctors have advised Ms Kravchenco to start the treatment before the end of the year as the longer it was left, the lower the possibility of success.

www.helpvlada.com