Why we opened this campaign
Appeal from Lina’s Family
Hello! My name is Diana, and together with my husband we create worlds in augmented reality—this is both our job and our calling. Today, however, I write to you as the mother of five-year-old Lina, our brave little girl who proves every day that miracles happen when you believe in them. We now have a chance to give her a new life, and we sincerely hope for your support.
💔 Our Story
In 2019 our family welcomed Lina—a long-awaited, radiant child born with a congenital heart defect.
When she was four months old we handed our little one over for what we thought would be a routine corrective surgery, but everything went wrong. As our pediatrician delicately put it, “she died a little.”
During pre-operative preparation Lina’s heart stopped. She was urgently connected to an ECMO machine—an artificial heart-lung system that literally kept her alive.
For two agonizing weeks our baby lay with an open chest and a barely beating heart, poised between life and death. We lived in the ICU, anxious at every breath, every monitor beep. The doctors fought—Lina fought with them.
An entire year behind hospital walls ended with a harsh diagnosis: bilateral vocal-cord paresis. The nerves vital for breathing and speech ceased to function, and now Lina can breathe only through a tracheostomy tube in her throat.
She cannot bathe in the sea or even in a tub, often falls ill, and needs constant care. The discharge protocol states that two adults must remain at her side at all times—in our case, both parents.
We stay beside her around the clock to suction the trachea whenever necessary and to prevent Lina from accidentally pulling out the breathing tube—something that could be dangerous at any moment, day or night.
Despite everything, she is an active, bright, and cheerful child. We are searching for her chance to live without the tube—to breathe and speak freely.
🌟 The Opportunity
After many years of searching we found a solution: an innovative vocal-cord reinnervation surgery performed at Stanford Children’s Hospital (USA). Over twelve hours, a team of surgeons will replace the damaged nerves with healthy ones. Only twenty to thirty patients worldwide have successfully undergone this procedure, and each case is a true medical miracle.
✨ We have achieved the incredible—Maccabi Health Insurance has agreed to cover the flights and the surgery itself.
✈️ Departure is scheduled for July 14. 👩⚕️ The surgery is set for August 1 or 15, preceded by two weeks of mandatory diagnostics at the hospital.
🛡 After the operation we will need at least three weeks of rehabilitation under medical supervision before we can return home.
🧾 Why We Need Funds
Just a week ago (on the first calm day in Israel) we received the long-awaited letter from Stanford Children’s Hospital—an invitation for diagnostics and the surgery.
Because of tight deadlines and logistics we have run into an unexpected problem: housing costs. Renting accommodation near the medical center for the previously estimated $2,400 per month, which the insurance was ready to cover, proved impossible—especially in July-August in Palo Alto, where demand is extremely high.
We also plan to rent a car; given the medical equipment and restrictions on using taxis with our child, this is the safest and most practical option. In addition, we must cover basic living expenses in one of the most expensive regions of the USA.
🔹 Amount Needed: $10,000
This will cover:
• Two months of housing rent
• Health insurance for my husband and me
• Transport and transfers
• Food and everyday necessities
💡 About Us
We moved to Israel from Saint Petersburg in 2017. Here we are developing our own AR start-up—a unique platform that lets anyone, even without programming skills, create augmented-reality projects in minutes for education, tourism, gaming, and culture anywhere in the world.
Our project was gaining momentum before the pandemic and the wave of armed conflicts. Back then everything seemed possible—ideas blossomed, technology advanced rapidly, and we believed we would soon enter the global market.
Global upheavals changed that reality: the economy faltered, investments froze, and we had to fight to keep the project alive. Despite these difficulties we continue working and pour our hearts into making our technology accessible.
We are now at the scaling stage: in partnership with the Next Oktober project we are launching AR “memory routes” in Israel to honor the victims of the events of 7 October. We also develop initiatives abroad, engaging local communities.
This work sustains us amid unstable income and the constant care our daughter requires.
I, Lina’s mother, am a certified breathing-technique instructor. I regularly run free online sessions for refugees, seniors, and Holocaust survivors coping with trauma and stress. Sharing this practice helps others—and helps us stay grounded.
🤝 Why We Are Reaching Out
We have done everything possible: secured insurance support, found the doctors, and are preparing mentally and physically for the complex surgery and a recovery that will take up to two years. Now only a small but critical amount remains. We will be deeply grateful for any help with housing expenses.
Every contribution is an investment in the breath, the voice, and the future of our daughter.
With heartfelt thanks,
Ilya, Diana, and Princess Lina
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