Svetlana Karpacheva: My life is "valued" at 50,000 euros

Hardly any of us ever thought that one day our life would begin to slip through our fingers like sand. And efforts to keep him will be unsuccessful. And the chance to squeeze it tightly in his fist will be related to money, with a lot of money, which we have not even seen in a dream. But now they are equal to life, they give hope that we will have years to enjoy the successes of our child, to be there for him when he is difficult and needs maternal support, to be with him when from his heart oozes happiness… Can all this have a price? And yet, for Svetlana Karpacheva, the price for her life has been set today - 50,000 euros. The price of he alth, the price of realized motherhood…

How does Svetlana's life turn 360 degrees? What gives her the strength to fight the disease? What is the price of hope? Meet Svetlana Karpacheva.

Svetlana, tell us about yourself

- My name is Svetlana Karpacheva. I am 37 years old. I am originally from Varna, but due to various confluence of circumstances, I have been living in Sofia since 2004. I worked as an accountant. In 2010, at the age of 33, I gave birth to a baby girl - my only child.

When did your he alth problems start?

- I was in maternity for two years. I went back to work, but after two months I had an epileptic seizure. I was alone at home with my daughter when I suddenly collapsed on the floor - completely unaware of what had happened to me. The only indication that I had had a seizure was that my tongue was bitten, chewed and bloody. I was scheduled for an MRI and in the meantime I had a second seizure - already in front of my partner and my mother.

The resonance showed a tumor - frontally in the brain,

malignant, crossing from one hemisphere to the other. We immediately scheduled a date for admission to "Pirogov".

Who did the operation?

- The operation was successfully performed by Prof. Gabrovski in March 2013, to whom I am extremely grateful. The tumor turned out to be mixed, glial (grade II and III astrocytoma with areas of oligodendroglioma). It was partially removed, with no hope of its complete removal due to its poor location.

Didn't you feel better after the operation?

- One month after the operation, my vision began to deteriorate progressively, I got a split image. The ultrasound showed that I had a hematoma after surgery and a second operation was required. The second was also in "Pirogov" in April 2013. This was followed by the maximum dose of radiation therapy for my body, in parallel with chemotherapy. Since then, I have been undergoing chemotherapy every month, and I have done 18 procedures so far. My hair is falling out, my memory and concentration have decreased significantly. I retired due to illness with a decision of TELK 100% disability, no right to work - accordingly, they terminated my employment contract.

Why did you decide to seek help outside Bulgaria?

- I didn't know what to do… The thought that my child would grow up without a mother drove me crazy with grief. I had a consultation last year with Prof. Dr. Venelin Gerganov, neurosurgeon, head of department at the International Neuroscience Institute in Hannover, Germany. He gave me hope that he could remove another part of the tumor, which most likely

will increase my life span

Still, I hope I will have enough time until they find a cure for cancer. The operation will be worth 50,000 euros.

Won't the he alth fund cover the costs of the operation?

- I submitted documents to the He alth Insurance Fund to finance the operation. They asked for a document - form S2 or E112 and date of hospitalization. The institute in Hannover replied that they do not issue the specified form. And how can I request a date for hospitalization when I have not collected the amount for surgery? From now on I don't know what to do and how to collect the amount? I have the daunting task of raising €50,000 with which to undergo an operation in Germany in the hope of extending my life. I have a 3-year-old child and I want him to have memories of his mother, and maybe I'll wait until they come up with a medicine for my "badass" - that's what I call the tumor in my head. Therefore, I am calling on all good people to help me. I know how poor we Bulgarians are, but I also know what big hearts we have - neither poverty nor despair has robbed them yet.