Help Svetlana Receive a Life-Saving Heart Transplant

I am Maxim. I have started this GoFundMe for my wife, Svetlana.

She suffered severe heart failure and cardiogenic shock. Her heart is now critically damaged and cannot function without continuous medical support.

Her doctors have determined that a heart transplant is the only option to save her life.

In November 2025, our lives changed overnight. Svetlana was rushed to the hospital with critical heart failure and cardiogenic shock. She had never had any heart problems before — everything happened suddenly and without warning.

Those who know Svetlana know her as an open, warm, and deeply caring person. She takes care of others — not only with words, but through her actions. She loves camping, hiking, decorating our home, entertaining guests, and creating a sense of warmth and comfort wherever she is. Even when things are difficult for her, she tries to support those around her.

When her condition worsened, she was transferred from our local Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula to UCSF Medical Center. She has now been there for nearly two months in critical condition. Her heart is severely damaged and cannot function on its own without continuous medical support.

Svetlana is on the transplant waiting list and remains hospitalized on intensive care. Surgery can take place at any moment once a suitable donor organ becomes available. We live each day knowing that everything could change very quickly.

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After the transplant, she will need at least two to three months of recovery near UCSF. This means temporary housing in San Francisco, ongoing medical bills, insurance co-pays, medications, transportation, and everyday living expenses. At the same time, our regular rent and utility payments at home continue. The combined weight of these obligations is more than we can manage on our own.

We are a small family: Svetlana, our daughter Sasha, and me. Sasha is a chemistry major and is graduating from Cal Poly this year. My teaching position has been our primary source of income, but I am now officially designated as Svetlana’s caregiver and must remain by her side full-time, so I am temporarily unable to work.

Earlier this year, I also underwent a serious surgery myself. While I am recovering well, it exhausted all of my paid sick leave and vacation time and left us without the financial reserves we would normally rely on in a crisis. This has made an already difficult situation even more fragile.

I have never before had to ask for financial help. This decision was not easy. But at this point, your support will directly help us focus on Svetlana’s transplant and recovery instead of mounting financial pressure.

We are sincerely grateful to anyone who is able to help — financially or simply by sharing this page.

If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this campaign. Every share brings us closer to bringing Svetlana home and giving her the stability she needs to recover.

Thank you for standing with us during this critical time