Ventilator for Vasyl

True expertise isn’t just about professional development—sometimes, it is the exact boundary between a child staying trapped in a hospital ward or finally going home to their family.

Vasyl lives with Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy. Tracheostomized and confined to a hospital bed, he spent months waiting for a lifeline.

When his family reached out to us, we faced a stark reality: finding and funding the right respiratory support for his specific diagnosis is incredibly difficult. A new, compatible ventilator would have cost our foundation upwards of €10,000 just to start—a massive financial hurdle and a devastating delay for a child who didn’t have time to spare.

But the solution wasn’t a new fundraising campaign. It was specialized knowledge.

The Lviv Clinical Center of Children’s Healthcare already had a Resmed Astral ventilator in storage, however, the medical team yet hadn’t received training required to operate it for a case this complex.

This is exactly where our international workshop in Würzburg closed the gap. The specialized insights Marta Sheremet and her medical team brought back from global experts on respiratory therapy and ventilation equipment Lindsey Reigle and Michael Fleck provided the precise breakthrough Vasyl needed. Upon returning to Ukraine, they knew exactly how to configure the Astral device, tailor it to Vasyl’s highly specific needs, and safely adapt the donated equipment already on hand.

More importantly, the team thoroughly trained Vasyl’s parents, giving them the skills and confidence to manage his care safely at home. Today, Vasyl is finally back where he belongs, surrounded by his family and breathing safely.

By unlocking existing resources through education, we also freed up €10,000 —funds that can now be redirected to protect other vulnerable children.

Investing in knowledge turned out to be a direct line to saving lives, and there are many more to come thanks to your kind support.

Learn more about BfS educational mission in Ukraine on the official website:

Würzburg Workshop 2026

Thank you!

16.06.2026