'They’re left without anything':  Fundraising campaign set up to help Ukrainian boy battling leukaemia who has arrived in West Cork

A FUNDRAISING campaign has been set up to assist a five-year-old Ukrainian boy battling leukaemia who has arrived in West Cork after fleeing his home country with his family.

Leonid Shapoval landed in Ireland on Monday with his mother Yana, father Serghy and grandmother Svitlana after Leonid’s parents were advised to leave Ukraine and seek medical help abroad for their son.

Leonid had been due to undergo a bone marrow transplant at a hospital in Kyiv on March 10.

The family were assisted with their passage into Ireland by Cork South-West TD Michael Collins who was contacted on Friday by Yana’s aunt in Ballydehob.

Speaking to The Echo, the Independent TD said the Ukrainian family immediately began to make their way to the Polish border, leaving everything behind save for a few essentials.

Working in conjunction with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Collins did his utmost to get the family to the Polish border as quickly as possible.

“In fairness they got a police escort at one stage to the border but still when they got to the border, they were five and a half hours waiting to cross it because of the huge volumes of people trying to get into Poland to flee the Ukraine,” he said.

Leonid and his parents and grandmother arrived in Dublin on Monday where they were met by their Irish family.

“I bought him [Leonid] a little teddy bear with an Irish emblem wishing him céad míle fáilte,” Mr Collins, who also travelled to the airport, said.

“It was very emotional for the family. I stepped back for a while and then I had a chat with the parents to see how Leonid was and talk about the next steps.” 

Now staying with family in Ballydehob, Mr Collins said Leonid was to attend the Mizen Medical Practice in Schull on Tuesday and that it is expected he will be referred for treatment elsewhere.

Mr Collins said efforts are underway to translate the child’s medical documentation into English.

“This might not be a possibility, but there was a donor in Ukraine who was identified as a suitable donor for Leonid.

“We’re trying to see can we get the name of that donor and if it’s a possibility of getting that donor to Ireland,” Mr Collins continued.

Mr Collins said that whilst the family are relieved to be safe in Ireland, they are exhausted from the difficult journey over and are focused on getting their son the medical attention he needs.

“We’ve gone through an awful lot to get it to where we are but there’s a big push on now to get this boy an operation and save his life, basically” he said.

Mr Collins spoke to the stark reality of the situation in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian attack.

“The clinic he [Leonid] attended on Friday [in Ukraine] was damaged by a bomb last night so they are lucky to be out of there.

“Sadly, they don’t know is their house standing or not.

“Obviously, they’re left without anything, they just literally jumped in the car and did exactly what they were told.

“Now, they [Irish family members] have set up a GoFundMe page here because we’re trying to get the child looked after medically.

“Any money that’s left over will go to cancer research.” 

To donate to the GoFundMe, search ‘Help Leonid with his Leukaemia treatment’ on www.gofundme.com