Struggling for Nazar Vorobiev’s life

At the end of 2021, the charity project E100 Family received an application from a trucker from Brest (Belarus). The man asked for financial assistance for his four-year-old son Nazar. The child was diagnosed with a pilocytic astrocytoma (chiasma glioma) and a tumor in the optic nerve.

According to Yulia, Nazar's mother, the problem was discovered in September 2020 during an appointment with an ophthalmologist. The specialist identified optic nerve atrophy in both eyes, and the right eye could hardly see anything. Nazar was urgently hospitalized and in Minsk they performed an operation to partially remove the tumor.

"The surgery went without complications and at first everything was fine," Yulia told us. “The first examination after surgery showed that the rest of the tumor hasn’t changed. But her joy was short-lived. In April the doctors said that the tumor began to grow. A second surgery was scheduled for June and passed without complications.”

Exactly one month later, in July, Nazar's head began to hurt, and the child underwent his third surgery to partially remove the tumor.

"As the doctors later told us, the tumor gave occlusion, which led to acute increased intracranial pressure and hydrocephalus. Only emergency surgery helped my son to survive. Nazar spent 10 days in intensive care. Frequent intervention left its mark. My child has diabetes, amblyopia, hypothalamic dysfunction, Cushing's syndrome (excess ACTH secretion)", said Yulia.

Last fall Nazar was treated with an induction regimen of carboplatin and vincristine. Unfortunately, free medications did not work. That was when the question of imported drugs came up. The cost of one cycle of treatment was estimated at about $10,000.

Thanks to E100 employees who donated money and participated in fundraising, we were able to pay for the first round of chemotherapy and all the child's tests.

"The danger of the disease is that the brain tumor has affected almost all of the optic nerves. Nazar has not been able to see in his right eye for a year and only a small percentage of his vision remains in his left eye. Without treatment my son could go blind," Yulia added. “There is no chance for Nazar in Belarus. But Professor Miriam Ben Arush from Ichilov Israel Hospital (Suraski) in Tel Aviv agreed to examine the boy. Soon there will be a counseling interview to discuss treatment strategy.”

Yulia and Alexei Vorobey sincerely thank E100 staff and the charity project, which gave Nazar a chance for a brighter future.