Lancôme and Tvoya Opora Raise 1,000,000 UAH for Children's Heart Surgeries As part of a special Mother’s Day initiative, Lancôme and the Tvoya Opora Charitable Foundation raised 1,000,000 UAH to fund lifesaving heart surgeries for children with congenital defects. We’re honored to share the real stories of young patients who, thanks to this support, received a new chance at a healthy life.

She Couldn’t Breathe on Her Own: Mariyka’s Story of Hope and Recovery

Today, little Mariyka is smiling, bringing joy to her parents’ hearts. But her first year of life was anything but easy.
Mariyka’s mother had a difficult delivery, and when doctors finally delivered the baby, she wasn’t breathing on her own. She was immediately rushed to the intensive care unit, where doctors diagnosed her with a congenital heart defect.

It was devastating news for the family, but the medical team reassured them: surgery could wait until Mariyka was stronger. After being discharged from the maternity hospital, the baby underwent regular medical monitoring and received medication to support her heart.

When she was three months old, doctors from the M.M. Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery visited Vinnytsia and examined Mariyka. They recommended performing surgery when she turned six months. Unfortunately, due to the unstable situation in the country, the family couldn’t travel to Kyiv as planned. Mariyka finally had her operation at almost 10 months old.

Thankfully, everything went well. The 3.5-hour open-heart surgery was a success. Mariyka spent four days in intensive care, then quickly returned home to Vinnytsia to recover.

She will still require follow-up exams and regular checkups, but the best news is that no additional surgeries will be needed. A major step toward full recovery has been taken — and another child in Ukraine now has a healthy heart. That’s exactly the mission of our project, “Big Little Heart,” led by the Tvoya Opora Foundation.

Mariyka received her treatment thanks to the Mother’s Day campaign by Lancôme, which provided all the necessary medications during her surgery and stay at the Amosov Institute.