Help my little niece Anastasija

Dear friends, this beautiful little girl, is eight-year-old Anastasija Lakic, my cousin's daughter, from Bijeljina, Serb Republic. She was diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) this past summer. Instead of playing with friends and getting excited about the new school year, she started facing multiple rounds of chemotherapy in a hospital in Banja Luka. The treatment was a rollercoaster and was not showing much improvement. Her team of doctors is now recommending that she needs to be transferred to a special hospital in Germany to continue her treatment - which will include additional chemotherapy, radiation and a possible stem cell transplant. Thankfully, the Serb Republic - Solidarity Fund for Treatment of Diseases of Children Abroad has agreed to pay for the hospital bills and life-saving further treatments.

Due to Anastasija's age, the whole family (my cousin, Anastasija's mother who's also in the second half of a risky pregnancy and her older brother) will need to move to Dusseldorf for the length of the treatment (at least a year). To note: the family members might be compatible stem cell donors and need to undergo further testing while there. The treatment also requires them to live no more than a couple of miles from the hospital and due to the popularity/success of this hospital, renting an apartment nearby is also very costly and hard to find. Unfortunately, my cousin and his family will need to pay out of pocket for all of these additional but unavoidable costs. The financial burden that they are experiencing has been very difficult since Anastasija's diagnosis as neither of them have been able to work.

Therefore, dear friends, if you can and wish to help, please help our little princess and her family through these difficult times. I am accepting all donations on Anastasija's behalf and will be sent to Anastasija's father, Nebojsa Lakic in Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Respectfully,

Organizer: Dragana (née: Lakic) Urosevic

Dragi prijatelji, ova prelepa devojcica je osmogodisnja Anastasija Lakic, kcerkica moga brata od strica iz Bijeljine, RS. Proslog leta joj je ustanovljena dijagnoza akutne limfoblastne leukemije visokog rizika i umesto da uziva u letnjim dogodovstinama i da se raduje pocetku skolske godine, ona je pocela sa mnogobrojnim ciklusima hemoterapije i trenutno se nalazi sa roditeljima u bolnici u Banja Luci. Mnogobrojne i razlicite hemoterapije, nazalost nisu pokazale puno pomaka i njen tim lekara je ustanovio da joj je neophodan nastavak lecenja u specijalizovanoj bolnici u Dizeldorfu u Nemackoj. Nastavak lecenja ukljucuje chemoterapije, radijaciju i potencijalnu transplantaciju maticnih celija. Fond Solidarnosti Republike Srpske je odobrio da pokrije troskove njenog lecenja u toj bolnici.

Sa obzirom na Anastasijine godine, neophodno je da neko bude uz nju, tako da ce cela porodica (njen otac, majka koja je u drugoj polovini rizicne trudnoce i stariji brat), morati da se presele tamo. Da napomenem, oni su svi potencijalni donori i tamo ce da prodju kroz naknadno testiranje. Tokom lecenja, neophodno je da porodica zivi blizu bolnice, a zbog popularnosti ove klinike, boravak i iznajmljivanje stana u tom delu je jako skupo i tesko za naci. Nazalost, sve troskove boravka u Nemackoj moj rodjak i njegova porodica moraju da snose sami. S obzirom da otkada se Anastasija razbolela nijedno od roditelja nije moglo da radi, snositi troskove boravka u Nemackoj ce biti jako tesko.

Zato se obracam vama, svim ljudima dobre volje da u skladu sa svojim mogucnostima, pomognemo nasoj maloj lavici Anastasiji i njenoj porodici da prebrodi ove teske trenutke.

Unapred zahvalna,

Organizator: Dragana (rodjena:Lakic) Urosevic