Dear donors, kind people,

my name is Veronika and I am the mum of an exceptional but seriously ill little girl called Lilianka. Lilianka suffers from the extremely rare Phelan-McDermid syndrome. For the first seven years of her life, I raised her entirely on my own. Today, I have a loving husband by my side who even wants to adopt Lilianka, but our financial and personal situation is at breaking point.

A life dominated by round-the-clock care

Lilianka is growing; she now weighs more and is taller than I am, but her mental development remains at the level of a two-year-old. She cannot do anything on her own:

• Communication: She has a severe speech impairment and can say no more than three words.
• Personal hygiene: She needs my help with every toilet visit, whether for a wee or a poo. I can’t manage to shower her or brush her teeth on my own.
• Mobility: She has autistic traits, outbursts of anger and enormous problems with balance. Uneven terrain is insurmountable for her.
• Safety: She cannot go anywhere on her own and requires constant supervision.

Living in rented accommodation and constant travelling

We’re currently renting an old house where Lilianka doesn’t even have her own room – we have to keep her bed in the living room because we don’t have the space. Our tenancy agreement is due to end soon, and we’re facing the prospect of having to move house again.

To give Lilianka a chance to develop, I drive her 30 km there and 30 km back to a special school every day. The school alone costs us 198 euros a month, not to mention the huge petrol costs. We have to keep two cars running – one for me to take Lilianka to school, and the other for my husband so he can get to work and take over from me in the afternoon.

We’re at the end of our financial tether

My husband works from morning till night to support us, as we have two other children at home. I’m with Lilianka all day. I only earn a bit extra in the evenings by cleaning houses once my husband gets home from work.

We’ve started building our own house, which would be a safe haven for Lilianka – barrier-free and adapted to her needs. However, we’ve run out of money due to the high cost of building materials, our rent, and the costs of school and petrol. We’re struggling to finish the house, and time is running out.

How can you help us?

We cannot manage this financially on our own. Every single euro from the collection will be used to:

1. Completing the building work on our house so that we can move in as soon as possible.
2. Building a wheelchair-accessible bathroom where we can safely shower Lilianka.
3. Covering the costs of her special school and the fuel that keeps her connected to the world.

We would like to thank everyone in advance, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping us give Lilianka a safe home from which no one will ever evict us again.

With love and gratitude,

Lilianka’s mum and family