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1 Mar
A 5-year-old boy in need of urgent cancer care and his family have found refuge in West Cork after escaping over the border from Ukraine into Poland.
Leonaid and his parents Yana and Serghyi Shatoval fled from their home in Kyiv over the weekend, getting a police escort to the Polish border, where they had to wait 5 hours to make the crossing into safety.
With the help of West Cork TD Michael Collins, who was contacted by Yana's aunt, who lives in Ballydehob, and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, they were able to get a flight from Warsaw to Zurich and on to Dublin.
Now the family are hoping to stay with Yana's aunt in West Cork - but their most urgent need is for cancer treatment in Ireland, and Deputy Collins and their friends in Cork are planning to help in every way possible.
This morning, the family told Patricia Messinger on C103's Cork Today Show that Leonaid has a form of leukemia and had been due to get a life-saving bone-marrow transplant at a clinic in Kyiv this week.
However, the family's hopes for the operation were dashed by the Russian invasion and the bombardment of Ukraine's capital city.
When they arrived at the hospital, staff had their files ready to take with them and told them to leave the country immediately and seek help for Leonaid where they could. Members of their families were already fighting on the front lines.
Yana's aunt Victoria Waldon lives in Ballydehob in West Cork so the family decided to leave Ukraine and cross the border to Poland in a bid to head to Ireland.
Deputy Michael Collins told Patricia Messinger that treatment for the 5-year-old refugee is now the number one priority for the family and those helping them.
"I have to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs, they worked with us and the family through the night and through the weekend to make sure every door was opened for them," said Deputy Collins.
"There were issues about their passports and their clearence at Zurich airport - they were asked to leave the plane, then they were put back on the plane, but with the help of the Department we managed to clear them."
"Leonaid needs immediate medical attention - he has a doctor's appointment today, he has to get an immediate referrall to Cork - now we have to see what we can do for him here as a matter of urgency."
"There are a number of difficulties - we need to get his medical records translated from Ukrainian".
Deputy Collins said that if there were any medical professionals who could translate the records in Cork, he would like to hear from them as soon as possible.
Victoria, little Leonaid's great-aunt, told Patricia Messinger on C103 that they have been put in a 'devastating' situation - with Leonaid having lost his chance for a life-saving operation because the hospital is in a war zone and needs to treat wounded soldiers.
The family are now hoping to raise funds to pay for medical treatment for the 5-year-old here, and for the resettlement of his family.
But most of all - they are hoping that the HSE and medics here can provide immediate care for little Leonaid.
The little boy's mother Yana also spoke to Patricia Messinger, saying they were relieved to have escaped to safety in Ireland but they are struggling to cope with the situation they have found themselves in.
"We are devastated, it was so hard to leave out country - but we need special medical care for Leonaid, we had no choice."
Anybody who can provide aid to the family should contact Deputy Michael Collins - michael.collins@oireachtas.ie