Humanitarian Foundation BUDI HUMAN - Aleksandar Šapić

raises funds for Natalija (2004) i Iva (2006) Bašović.

Natalija and Iva suffer from Friedrich's ataxia, a rare progressive genetic disease that affects mainly the nervous system and heart. Major neurological symptoms include muscle weakness and ataxia, loss of balance and coordination of movement.

Natalija and Iva were born as healthy children, but Natalija got ill at the age of nine. The disease, at first, affected the heart - cardiomyopathy (thickening of the heart muscle), then it spread on the legs and torso, she began to walk unsteadily, had tremor of her hands, began to speak  slower and she also got severe spinal scoliosis.

At that time, genetic testing proved that even her younger sister Iva also had the gene carrying the disease, although she had no symptoms.

When she was diagnosed, both parents and doctors were faced with horror and ignorance. Apart from spa treatment and physical therapy, there was no other treatment. 

After two years disease has progressed, Natalija is not able to walk any more, she is in a wheelchair and  completely dependent on someone else's help. Iva got the first symptoms at the age of eleven, when instability while walking and scoliosis of the spine began.

However, the parents did not give up, they tried everything they heard and read that helped children with the same diagnosis all over the world, so they found new hope for saving their children's lives - stem cell treatment. After the first stem cell treatment in Ukraine in 2018, which was done with the help of humane people, visible improvements were noted. Cardiomyopathy was stopped and cardiac muscle thickening was reduced for Natalia, and for Iva the disease progression was slowed.

The girls are mentally preserved, hopeful and optimistic, ready to fight for each new step, and despite all their difficulties, they are regular and excellent students.

These brave girls need stem cell treatment in Ukraine in order to achieve a lasting improvement in their health and save their lives. According to doctors from Ukraine, at least three to five stem cell treatments, ongoing spa treatment and special physical therapy are required.

They need us to help them fight further because the treatments are very expensive and their  parents are not able to provide such amount. They cannot win this battle alone without our help. 

Let's help Natalija walk and Iva to continue walking.

For Natalija and Iva! Let's be humane!

Let's help Natalija and Iva!