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A Russian Instagram influencer has thanked people for helping raise money to treat her son, who has a large birthmark that could become cancerous.
Ekaterina Mezenova shared the sad reason she never posted pictures of her son after he was born.
She said that when she first saw her infant son, she immediately noticed he had hair and moles of different sizes and colours all over his tiny body.
“The room was filled with nurses, obstetricians, therapists, geneticists all crowded around my baby, discussing his feature, which occupied almost the entire surface of the skin,” she said.
Ekaterina was so devastated that for the first week after his birth she cried almost nonstop.
The new mom eventually fought the feelings of despair and decided to do everything she could to help her son.
“Later it was established that it was a nevus, that is, a giant birthmark, and that this came with a huge cancer risk. Any damage to the skin, either chemical or physical or even hormones or any other changes in the body can provoke skin cancer,” Ekaterina revealed.
The Russian blogger started a fundraiser and managed to collect almost R7 million to cover part of operations to be performed in Israel.
She added the Israeli doctors they contacted said they wouldn’t be able to the whole birthmark, but they could do enough to eliminate the risk of cancer and give him a chance at a normal life.
But it isn’t an easy process and could take up to seven years to complete the treatment, according to Ekaterina.
The Russian blogger has received widespread support from her 862 000 Instagram followers, including from Ukrainian TV presenter and singer Regina Todorenko, who wrote, “It’ll work out! I believe in it!”
(IMAGES: MEDIADRUMWORLD/MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA)
