Hi, My name is Sean and I am fundraising for my friend Yelena in Kiev, Ukraine.

Following is her message:

Dear friends and supporters,

I hope this message finds you well.

My name is Yelena Guzchenko and I’m reaching out to all with a heavy heart and a deep sense of hope. In the past 20 months life has taken few dramatic turns for me and I could use your support in this challenging situation.

As many of you know, few years ago I moved from Los Angeles to Kyiv, Ukraine - country where I was born and grew up.

In the US I was very lucky to do what I loved the most - created clothes, from designer’s sketch through finished product in stores. For more than 20 years I worked in product development and production for well-known American fashion brands and retailers.

In 2019 a colleague of mine suggested to try manufacturing clothes in Ukraine. Our project turned to be very successful, we received multiple orders and that’s how I found myself back in my homeland.

In winter of 2022 while in Kyiv I had a bad hip injury. My leg was heavily bruised but I didn’t think I had to see a doctor – there were no fractured bones and could walk just fine.

But in a few weeks situation got developed in the most horrible way I could ever imagine – Russia started war against Ukraine! The whole country was subjected to massive air strikes and bombings, many regions, including areas near Kyiv, got occupied by Russians. With many airports bombed and destroyed there were no more flights from Ukraine, no safe roads to leave Kyiv.

I was shocked, stressed and scared but was hoping it would end soon. It did not.

As time went by pain from my hip injury started getting worse. When it became too painful to walk or sit I finally sought medical help and was shocked with diagnosis - “aseptic necrosis of the femoral head”. That meant that bone disease progressed so quickly that it reached a stage that had no available cure but a hip replacement.

Bad news from doctors didn’t end there – I found out that my heart condition didn’t allow me to have any complex surgeries at all. At the beginning of October, 2023 I had to have heart surgery, having received an implant in my heart.

Even though cost of medical care in Ukraine is many times less expensive than it is in the US, I am now overwhelmed with the cost of my current medical bills and debt as well as future expenses of the needed hip surgery and months of rehabilitation after it.

I understand that we all live through tough times these days, so I genuinely appreciate any support you can provide. Any contribution, no matter how small, will be an invaluable help during this difficult journey.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Yelena Guzchenko