Cough Assist for a SMA kid

When your child has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a simple cold can quickly become a crisis. For Khrystyna’s mother, every illness came with a heavy weight of worry. But this year, everything changed.

When 7-year-old Khrystyna fell ill recently, she was finally introduced to a life-changing piece of medical equipment: the Philips Respironics CoughAssist, provided through the Birds for Sofia foundation thanks to our dedicated partners at Borgel.

Moreover, Khrystyna’s family found a true circle of support at the Clinical Center of Children’s Healthcare in Lviv. Her attending physician, Dr. Marta Sheremet, closely monitored the process and offered steady encouragement, while respiratory therapists guided the family through every step, carefully adjusting the machine’s parameters to fit Khrystyna’s exact needs and teaching her how to use it with confidence.

Today, the cough assist is at home with Khrystyna. It has become an essential part of her daily routine, a vital lifeline whenever she gets sick, and a hope to spend more days at home than at the hospital. “I don’t know how we survived seven years without it,” Khrystyna’s mom admits.

We are incredibly grateful to Borgel for providing this essential equipment, to the wonderful medical team in Lviv, and to everyone in our community who makes stories like Khrystyna’s possible.

Thank you for helping us bring relief, safety, and hope into rare homes.