Mum's desperate appeal for son's life-saving surgery

Louise Walsh

A loving mum is desperately appealing for help to raise €35,000 in just 18 days in order to get her teenage son life-saving treatment in Vienna.

Slav Vavro faces the possibility of having part of his leg amputated because of a tumour if he stays in Ireland but specialist treatment in Austria will not only save his leg but also his life.

In a race against time, the family need to raise €35,000 ahead of the operation which is scheduled for October 25th. Almost €16,000 had been raised by Sunday morning.

The 14 year old from Laytown, Co. Meath was diagnosed with a very rare type of stage four Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in January 2018 and initial surgery incompletely removed the tumour on his foot, which has recurred.

The cancer lay undetected in the arch of his foot until it spread into his spine and bone marrow. After gruelling chemotherapy, the family was told that any further treatment would be palliative and not curative.

However, since then his mum Nadia has exhausted all medical options in her constant search worldwide to help her son and managed to raise enough funds to buy him an oxygen chamber to help his battle against the cancer.

A generous donation by lottery winners last year ensured Nadia was able to buy Slav the hyperbaric chamber which she believes will help her son with compression fractures of six vertebrae and defy odds of a 5 per cent chance to survive the rare cancer.

Now in an emotional appeal, she is pleading with people to help save her son's life by ensuring he gets the operation in Vienna which promises to remove the tumour and perform neuro-muscular reconstruction of his foot.

"The past few weeks we have had many heartbreaking conversations about the possibility of amputating Slav's leg below the knee if the surgery was completed in Ireland.

"This was extremely difficult to hear and I only wanted to consider it if absolutely necessary as Slav has recently taken up jogging twice a day which helps his mental health as well as physical.

"I found a hospital in Vienna where doctors see many more children with Slav's type of cancer and we are now booked for surgery on October 27th.

"This surgery will not only save Slav's foot but, we hope, his life.

"The surgeon in Ireland said there was no other option but to amputate below the knee to make sure the cancer was removed.

"However in Austria, they say they can remove the tumour with wide, clear margins to ensure it doesn't return again and to perform a neuro-muscular reconstruction of his foot as well as the reconstruction of his vein.

"They say amputation is not necessary

"Unfortunately, we only have 18 days to raise the funds to travel to Vienna for the surgery which is booked for October 27th.

"The tumour in Slav's foot is growing and any postponement of the surgery would mean bigger damage and more complicated surgery. Slav also needs chemotherapy which can only start when surgery is done.

"The urgent surgery in Vienna will cost about 35,000 euro plus additional genetic testing. We have little funds left to maintain Slav's oxygen chamber and cover his supplements.

"His tumour is getting visibly bigger by the day. I know 35,000 is a large amount in very little time but I will do whatever it takes and beyond to save my son.

"Please, help us to save Slav's foot and his life. We can't let this happen when we know both can be saved.

Donations can be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/lifesaving-surgery-for-slav