Ivan Mahas' journey to recovery
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My name is Anna and this is my son, Ivan’s, story.
Ivan graduated from Chernigov State University in Ukraine in 2013. He was very passionate about his studies in diplomacy, international relations and political science. After completing his degree, he decided to come to Canada to further his studies in English. He believed that excelling his English language skills would give him better career prospects
Ivan settled in Vancouver where he started attending college. He quickly fell in love with Canada and it’s people. In 2016, Ivan moved to Toronto and started working in construction. He had dreams of building a home and a family in Toronto. By 2018 Ivan’s life was “on the right track.” He was living with his girlfriend and hoping to settle down. He started his own construction business, purchased tools, equipment and a truck.
Everything changed in September 2018 when Ivan had a sudden ruptured aneurysm, leaving him in a near death state. In matter of days, Ivan lost everything: his girlfriend left him, his business was gone and his car was repossessed.
Ivan had life saving surgery but all the medical staff I spoke with expressed little hope in Ivan regaining his ability to function. Doctors spoke to me frequently about taking him off life support, but I begged them to give him a chance. Slowly, Ivan stared eating on his own and had his feeding tube was removed. I was bringing him home cooked meals daily to help him gain strength. Ivan started breathing independently and eventually the breathing tube was removed from his throat. He was making slow but consistent improvements. With financial help from his younger brother Sergey in Ukraine I was able to hire a massage therapist and chiropractor who helped Ivan get stronger and more independent. Then in 2020 Covid hit and I was not allowed to visit Ivan at the hospital for nearly 4 months. This was immensely difficult for me and devastating for Ivan. My son became depressed and stopped eating, he lost 45 lbs and started showing signs of severe neglect. I made the decision to take him home and care for him myself.
In a short time at home, Ivan became more motivated and started to make slow improvements. He was working with home care therapists and making gains. Once government funded services ran out, we explored private services such as Speech Language Therapist, Physiotherapy and massage therapy. Ivan’s brother in Ukraine was assisting financially in order to give Ivan an opportunity to return to a better quality of life with greater independence. Unfortunately, due to the recent events in Ukraine, his brother can no longer assist us financially and my inability to work as I am his 24 hour caregiver, we are desperately seeking for help.
Ivan has been lucky to find a rehabilitation clinic that has helped him made great progress both physically and emotionally. As it is not funded by OHIP, Ivan looks to the kindness of others to help him get back to being the man that we all know he will be.
Thank you kindly for your attention, support and prayers
,
Ivan graduated from Chernigov State University in Ukraine in 2013. He was very passionate about his studies in diplomacy, international relations and political science. After completing his degree, he decided to come to Canada to further his studies in English. He believed that excelling his English language skills would give him better career prospects
Ivan settled in Vancouver where he started attending college. He quickly fell in love with Canada and it’s people. In 2016, Ivan moved to Toronto and started working in construction. He had dreams of building a home and a family in Toronto. By 2018 Ivan’s life was “on the right track.” He was living with his girlfriend and hoping to settle down. He started his own construction business, purchased tools, equipment and a truck.
Everything changed in September 2018 when Ivan had a sudden ruptured aneurysm, leaving him in a near death state. In matter of days, Ivan lost everything: his girlfriend left him, his business was gone and his car was repossessed.
Ivan had life saving surgery but all the medical staff I spoke with expressed little hope in Ivan regaining his ability to function. Doctors spoke to me frequently about taking him off life support, but I begged them to give him a chance. Slowly, Ivan stared eating on his own and had his feeding tube was removed. I was bringing him home cooked meals daily to help him gain strength. Ivan started breathing independently and eventually the breathing tube was removed from his throat. He was making slow but consistent improvements. With financial help from his younger brother Sergey in Ukraine I was able to hire a massage therapist and chiropractor who helped Ivan get stronger and more independent. Then in 2020 Covid hit and I was not allowed to visit Ivan at the hospital for nearly 4 months. This was immensely difficult for me and devastating for Ivan. My son became depressed and stopped eating, he lost 45 lbs and started showing signs of severe neglect. I made the decision to take him home and care for him myself.
In a short time at home, Ivan became more motivated and started to make slow improvements. He was working with home care therapists and making gains. Once government funded services ran out, we explored private services such as Speech Language Therapist, Physiotherapy and massage therapy. Ivan’s brother in Ukraine was assisting financially in order to give Ivan an opportunity to return to a better quality of life with greater independence. Unfortunately, due to the recent events in Ukraine, his brother can no longer assist us financially and my inability to work as I am his 24 hour caregiver, we are desperately seeking for help.
Ivan has been lucky to find a rehabilitation clinic that has helped him made great progress both physically and emotionally. As it is not funded by OHIP, Ivan looks to the kindness of others to help him get back to being the man that we all know he will be.
Thank you kindly for your attention, support and prayers
,
Organizer
Ganna Magas
Organizer
Thornhill, ON