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We received a report from Gideon Levytam, our Director of International Missions, after his recent trip to visit Kostya and his mother Ella.   Gideon, along with Jenya Drazman, and Rick Higbee, two other CJFM staff members were able to spend 2 days with them, and encourage them as Kostya continues his journey in the healing process.  They are in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he has been fitted with a prosthetic leg and is undergoing physical therapy.  It has not been easy for him, as he still has some wounds that are healing on his upper thigh where his prosthetic leg attaches.  This will take time, but he is making steady progress in learning to walk with his new leg, and even to ride a bike!  He has also been fitted with special crutches to fit under his arms due to the scars from the severe burns he sustained.   His cannot extend his right arm completely, also due to scarring.

Gideon said they had a good time of fellowship with Kostya and Ella, and were able to talk to the physical therapists and others who are helping to care for him in this new phase of his treatment.   They were able to take them out to a mall and give them a break from the hospital environment for a while.   They also spent time in prayer and committing them to the Lord.  As Gideon says, “They will need a lot of grace and help upon returning to Ukraine, which may be sometime at the end of October, depending on Kostya’s progress.”   We thank you again for your prayers and support for Kostya and his mother.  Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare to return to Ukraine,  and having to re-adjust to the living conditions there.   We will post more updates as we receive them.

We received word that Kostya was back in the hospital for a few days last week after developing an infection in his right arm. He underwent surgery to remove the staples that were put in to keep his thumb in place. After a round of strong antibiotics he and Ella are back “home” at the Philoxenia House. He had another appointment recently for the fitting of his prosthetic leg, and this time they were able to make a molding of his left thigh to begin the process of actually making the leg. He will be going back this week for the first fitting, and for more rehab.

We also heard from Dr. Fuzaylov who is encouraged by Kostya’s progress. It is possible that he will be completely discharged sometime around the middle of October, and will then be able to return home to Ukraine.

Thank you again to everyone who has prayed for this young man and his mother over the past few months. We have truly seen the Lord’s healing hand at work and the power of His people praying! Some of our staff will likely visit with Kostya and Ella again before they leave the states, and we will bring you more news as we receive it.

This is just a short update on Kostya. Yesterday he and his Mom, Ella, moved to Philoxenia House, where they will live on an outpatient basis. For now, Kostya will have to come back to the hospital three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) for treatments. On Sunday the hospital staff organized a party for Kostya with gifts, pizza and soft drinks. All the nurses and some doctors were there to wish him a speedy recovery and a good transition to Philoxenia House. I was told that they do not do it for all the patients, but did it for Kostya because he spent 6 weeks at their hospital, including 3 weeks in the Intensive Care Unit. He came from Ukraine as an accute care patient. At the party he was given a few toys by the staff, and his favorite one was lego. Ella said he even kissed the box when he got it.

The move went very well. I was glad that we had taken them to see it before, because Ella said that the driver got lost a little bit trying to find it, and Ella and Kostya recognized the house when they saw it. The timing of my call to her yesterday was also fortunate, as Ella needed to ask the volunteers at the house for some things such as an alarm clock and a bath tub chair for Kostya. So I was able to talk to the volunteers about that.

Last Friday (August, 10^th) Kostya had an appointment at the orthopedic hospital in Springfield, MA to start the process of getting him a prosthetic leg. He was very worried about it, but the doctors in Springfield determined that Kostya was brought there too early as his thigh is still way too tender to make a molding needed for the prosthesis. Instead, Kostya saw how prosthetic limbs are made, and was quite impressed with their quality and the natural look. He asked if his artificial leg can be made with little hairs on it so it looks exactly like his healthy leg! The answer he got was that the technology is not yet quite as advanced, and that may be he could shave his other leg to make them look the same!

Today they are having a free day and are planning to explore the area around the house. Thank you for your prayers as Kostya continues to recover and begin the rehabilitation process.

From Gideon:
At the moment we are at the airport in Boston ready to depart back to Canada. I just wanted to give you a short update on our last day here in Boston. After taking Raymond to the airport yesterday, Kostya, Ella, Jenya and I went to a mall to purchase the needed shoes for Ella. It was very important to go get shoes for her, just like the day before when Jenya took Ella to buy the clothes Ella needed. Ella came to Boston with nearly no belongings, so we thank the Lord that we could provide for her the shoes and the clothes that she needed. While at the mall, Kostya was hungry, so we had something to eat together at the food court. Kostya was looking around seeing people able to walk, and it was kind of sad to watch him look around. We praise the Lord that we know that soon, in His time, Kostya will have a prosthetic leg and will be able to walk again. While Jenya took Ella to buy shoes, I spent some time with Kostya, pushing his wheelchair around the mall and got for him a car with a remote control that he chose. He was very happy, and his eyes lit up when we purchased it. After the time at the mall, we drove back to the hospital as we had to be back by a certain time.

This morning we went to see Ella and Kostya at the hospital to spend some time with them before going to the airport. They were sad to know that we were leaving them and told us they wished we did not have to do so. We took the time to pray together with them, commiting them to the Lord Jesus the Messiah for His help. We trust that the Lord will sustain them and give them the needed grace. Thank the Lord for all the supporters of CJF Ministries who have been so graciously participating in prayer and financial support for Kostya and Ella Bondarenko. Only God knows what is going on in the hearts and minds of these mother and son. I am reminded of what Yeshua our Messiah shared with His Hebrew disciples on the mountains of Galilee: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (Matthew 5:7).

From Raymond Stewart:

I just want to take a minute and give you an update on Kostya. When I got here in Boston on Friday I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. From the pictures I had seen and all the various reports I thought I would find a very weak and sick little boy. Much to my surprise and joy I found him doing well enough to be out of his room in a wheelchair on his way to get some medical tests. I said “Hi” to him and asked how he was doing and he said “Good”. Then his mother and I had a very good visit(through two different interpreters) while he was gone. When he returned, I was able to visit with him in his room and that is when I took the picture I sent to you. He is doing remarkably well in his recovery from the injury and all the surgeries he has undergone.

On Sunday morning Gideon, Jenya and I went to the hospital and visited with Ella & Kostya until 1:00pm or so when we all left the hospital(and I mean Ella & Kostya too) for the day. Kostya sat in the front seat with me in the car and he had to have the window down with the wind blowing in his face. First, we drove through the city and then on to lunch. After we ate, Jenya and Ella had to go shopping (go figure). I hung around waiting for them while Gideon had Kostya in the car where the inquisitive mind of a 12 year old boy pushed every button in the car to see what would happen, as well as he had to open the hood to look under there and see the engine. That took a couple of hours and we went to a church meeting after that where Gideon was a guest speaker. It was a Slavic Evangelical Baptist Church where Russian and Ukranian was spoken and we had a great worship experience. Then as we were leaving there to take Kostya back to the hospital he fell on the sidewalk and scraped his shoulder and knee. He was very upset and crying so the end of our outing was on a bit of a sour note. However, all in all it was a great day and Kostya and Ella seemed to have a fun time.

Earlier this morning Gideon, Jenya and I met with Dr. Fuzaylov at a bagel shop near the hospital and had a good meeting with him. He looks very young and was not what I had pictured in my mind. However, I guess at my age a lot of people look young, HA HA! Anyway, he gave us the phone number for the Greek house where Ella & Kostya will be staying. I contacted them and we are taking Ella there early this afternoon before I leave to come home.

Some really great news that I have just heard is that Kostya and Ella will be going to a facility in Springfield, Ma on Friday to begin the process of getting him an artificial leg. Then, if all goes as planned he will be discharged from the hospital as an in-patient on August 13th and will return for out-patient treatment 5 days a week after that. Isn’t that great news? I am truly blown away at that.

Well, I will close for now. I need to get ready to check out of the hotel. Have a great day!!

From Gary Hedrick: (7/29/2007)

Details for the past week have been sketchy because, as we explained earlier, CJFM doesn’t have anyone in Boston right now. Jenya Drazman, our Russian language translator, had to return home to Canada. She has taken Kostya and Ella under her wing, and has really fallen in love with them; but she does have a family in Toronto, including an adoring husband and two small children who miss her! So she can’t stay in Boston all the time.

When we don’t have any staff members (like Jenya) in Boston, we’re dependent on the medical staff at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children for our information. They are all very busy, of course, so we don’t hear from them as often as we would like. But we understand that they have more pressing matters to attend to. This world-class hospital treats children from around the globe—burn victims, accident victims, children whose limbs have been mangled in accidents, and all sorts of other cases. So we know they’re busy saving lives and limbs. It a way, it’s good that we haven’t heard anything this past week because if Kostya had any sort of setback, I’m sure they would notify us immediately. Like they say, no news is very often good news.

Fortunately, this information black-out is about to be lifted because Jenya will be on her way back to Boston this weekend, God willing. Raymond Stewart, our General Manager, has also been in Canada for the past week, helping our Canadian staff set up a new record keeping system. He will be stopping in Boston for a few days on his way back to Texas. He’ll meet Kostya, Ella, Dr. Fuzaylov, and the rest of the staff that’s been doing such a wonderful job. So the information pipeline should become active again this coming weekend! Presumably, the next step will be to get Kostya out of the hospital and into rehab, where he will be fitted with a new prosthetic leg and begin learning to use it. Also, the degree to which his injured arm can be rehabilitated is still an open question. As you can see in the medical photos (please exercise caution if you choose to access these photos here on the website—they are graphic), the injury to his arm was extremely serious. So we’ll learn more about Kostya’s rehab in the next week or two.

Our focus has been on Kostya in this blog, mostly because of the extreme urgency of his situation, but let’s remember that through Redemption 2000, we’re helping many other needy individuals—both young and old—in Israel and the former Soviet Union. Many are Jewish believers who attend our congregations there. Others are Jewish people (and also non-Jews) who aren’t necessarily believers, but who need our help. We provide food, clothing, shoes, medicine, and medical care as the Lord makes the resources available. One of the big needs we have in the FSU right now is for medicine and testing equipment for diabetics. People are actually dying there from diabetes because they don’t have access to basic health care and medicines. If you or anyone you know has a contact with a US or European pharmaceutical company that would make diabetic testing equipment and medicines available to us at no cost or at a discount, please let us know. We could provide a tax receipt for a US company. We may also be able to provide a receipt for a European company through CJF Ministries in the UK.

We will receive more information once Jenya and Raymond arrive in Boston in a few days. Until then, thank you for your prayers and contributions on Kostya’s behalf, and also on behalf of everyone else we’re helping through our Redemption 2000 relief ministry. Take care and God bless you!

From Gary Hedrick: (7/22/2007)

Jenya had to return to Canada, and we are relying now on a very busy doctor to get us the information for these updates, but we did hear from Dr. Fuzaylov earlier today and he says Kostya has been moved out of ICU (intensive care unit) and into a regular room. He also says Kostya is doing “much better,” and we are certainly grateful for that. Also, Jenya just now sent us an e—mail (as I was typing this) and said she called Ella earlier today. Ella says Kostya will have another surgery on Tuesday to cover his remaining open wounds with skin. After this surgery, he will have no open wounds for the first time since the accident. This will greatly reduce the chances of infection, so it’s very good news.

Our General Manager, Raymond Stewart, will be in Boston in two weeks, and Jenya is also making plans to return to visit Kostya and Ella, so when we have staff there it’ll be easier to receive regular updates. We’ll keep you apprised as more information becomes available.