Help Dmitry walk

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$5,881 raised of $8.8K

Help Dmitry walk

Hello dear friend!
Please take a moment to read this story. Any action you take may be able to solve this family's problem.  
27-year-old Dmitry is a schoolteacher, is married and has one son, with another on the way. He does everything for his family, but his right leg is missing.
Dmitry lost his leg when he was not even two years old. His family lived in the village of Neftegorsk on the island of Sakhalin, Russia. On the night of May 28, 1995, a strong earthquake occurred, which took the lives of many people, including his mom, dad and brother Ivan. Dmitry was buried under the rubble, but miraculously found 7 days later.
His condition was critical, his right leg was almost crushed by the slab that had pinned him. Dust and other dirt were drained from his lungs.
Dmitry was flown to the nearest city to get medical help. As the flight took a several hours, doctors put an emergency tourniquet on his leg, much higher than the injury.   At the hospital, it was decided to amputate Dmitry’s leg, as blood poisoning had already begun. The amputation left him with only 7 cm of bone. 
Dmitry was raised by his aunt (she is the one holding Dmitry at the moment when he was found).
The first prosthesis was put on Dmitry at the age of 5 in the Moscow center, at the region's expense.
But since the length of the bone was only 7 cm, it was very difficult to wear a prosthesis, and walking was nearly impossible. It was then decided to perform an operation to lengthen the bone.  After several consultations at Russian centers of trauma and orthopedics, no guarantee could be given that an operation would be successful, due to the weak state of his organism.
Then they came upon information about a certain foundation in Moscow, which organized surgeries at a Shriner’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Dmitry’s history was sent to the Shriner’s Hospital, and Dr. Anthony Scaduto, a Shriner’s surgeon, agreed to perform an operation to lengthen the bone. Dmitry’s caretaker, his aunt, couldn't miss such opportunity and did everything to make it possible.  At the end of 2008 she flew with him to LA and on the 6th day of their arrival to the US an operation was performed. Dmitry was fitted with a good prosthesis with an external power source from Otto bock. Dmitry felt happy. But time came to replace the prosthesis. He began to try to get it from the state through rehabilitation programs, since he had proof that should be able to receive help. But all that he was told, was that there were no funds, or that he doesn't have the right forms, and then that he has to have some certificates that are not related to prosthetics. Typical bureaucracy. 
Last year Dmitry had to get a new prosthesis, but this did not happen. He started having problems with skin on the stump, back problems, problems with walking, as well as the safety of walking. He even tried to build a prosthesis on his own, as they are so very expensive...
 
Please help in the purchase of a new prosthesis for Dmitry.
Please, help him to walk again! Thank you very much for your attention!
Attached are some photos.

Organizer

Helen Kurtow
Organizer
Salinas, CA
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