From a basement under a bombed kids’ hospital in Ukraine came a desperate plea to the world: “Who will get us out?”
Now, almost six months after the desperate cry, comes a remarkable tale of courage, resilience and hope.
Yaroslav Mayorov, 12, was one of 27 sick youngsters trapped in Kharkiv facing two lethal threats – cancer and Putin’s bombs.
The Sunday Mirror showed him forlorn in a wheelchair, his hair gone from chemotherapy.
Now we have caught up with him and his family in their new home, where his recovery has stunned doctors.
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
Yaroslav could barely sit up when we last saw him. But he has made inspiring progress at the Princess Maxine cancer clinic in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
He is walking again – and even boating, boxing and cycling with new friends.
A charity organised a “Dream Day” for Yaroslav last Tuesday where he rode in a Tesla car and tried an F1 simulator.
Mum Alyona said: “Yaroslav has that internal feeling that he must fight. Here he is able to be happy, the most important criteria for life. It’s happiness that has been stolen from everyone in Ukraine.”
The future remains perilous, however. Yaroslav was diagnosed with a desmoplastic small round blue cell tumour.
Only 200 cases have been recorded and just 15% lived beyond five years. While hugely grateful for the support Yarik has already received, Alyona, 37, hopes doctors can boost her son’s chances further.
It was March 6, less than 48 hours after the family’s plea in the Sunday Mirror, that the Tabletochki charity organised a convoy to take sick children and their mums to Kharkiv rail station.
Dads could not travel with them. Alyona recalls: “It was terrifying, rockets flying, the city destroyed. An air raid began as we arrived. There was nowhere to hide. It was a feeling that at any moment you could be blown up.”
The convoy faced a six-hour wait before it was safe to board the train to Lviv, western Ukraine.
The families were taken into Poland and sent on to hospitals across Europe – including Liverpool and London.
Alyona adds: “It was scary, but I was sure we’d get out somehow. Here I’m feeling great. All I knew about the Netherlands before is that they have lots of tulips.”
Yaroslav added: “Now I think it’s a great country. Everyone smiles.”
Yaroslav lives with his mum, aunt and another family hit by cancer and war.
Pavlo Hryshchenko, six, has been treated for leukaemia His mum Maryna, 34, said: “He saw it all as an adventure – the basement, the ambulance, the first time on a train.”
The families thanked Brits for their help and urged continued support.
Alyona added: “Ukraine is fighting for all of Europe. You can’t understand war until you are in it. “That feeling when they came and stole your home, your entire previous life.”
