Support Sonya's Dad in His Fight for Life

Hi, my name is Sonya Dronova, and I’m fundraising for my dad, who is battling end-stage liver cirrhosis.

Until just a few months ago, my dad was still functioning and trying to live a normal life. But in March, everything changed. He was hospitalized to remove fluid from his stomach due to complications from cirrhosis and a hernia. After a surgery gone wrong and a long hospital stay, he came home in critical condition - extremely thin, barely able to walk, and talking like he was drunk.

That night we had dinner together, but the next morning, I found him unresponsive. He had been unconscious for over six hours, and I had to call 911. He fell into a coma for six days - no food, no water, no signs of life. When he finally woke up, he wasn’t the same.

Since then, it’s been a nightmare cycle: he gets discharged from the hospital too early, comes home too weak to function, has another emergency, and we call 911 again. He often doesn’t recognize us, falls, loses control of his body, and can barely speak. He’s broken things in the house, flooded my room, and even hurt himself.

I live with my twin brother. We both work full-time and have no one to help us care for him. I’ve been desperately trying to find a personal care home or home health support, but I don’t know where to start. I’ve never done this before, and it’s overwhelming and heartbreaking.

Recently, I discovered that one of the hospitals had secretly marked him as DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and placed him under palliative care, without even telling us. They basically decided his life was over. They even wanted to list him as a potential organ donor without our consent.

But I’m not giving up on him.

I brought him to Emory University Hospital, and I’m now trying to get him a liver transplant - his only real chance at surviving this disease. But we have no money for the transplant, and not even enough for the basic care he needs right now.

This situation has been devastating, and I’ve been going through it alone, with no support system and no guidance. It’s painful watching someone you love fade away right in front of your eyes, and being powerless to fix it. But I know that if we act now, we can still save his life.

Every dollar counts. Even just sharing this helps. I never thought I’d be in a position where I’d need to ask the world for help like this, but here I am - fighting for my dad’s life. Thank you so much for reading, sharing, donating, or just sending love. With all my heart, Sonya.

His Current Diagnoses: 1. Liver cirrhosis 2. Hepatic encephalopathy 3. Ascites 4. Portal hypertension 5. Esophageal varices 6. Portal vein thrombosis 7. Hyperammonemia 8. Altered mental status 9. Liver failure 10. Advanced directives, DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) discussion, counseling on goals of care 11. Debility 12. Encounter for palliative care 13. Palliative care encounter 14. Pneumonia. (in some of the papers it says liver cancer which I don’t want to believe in)