More than €50,000 has been raised in just over 24 hours to help pay the medical expenses of a five-year-old boy with leukaemia, who fled to Ireland from Ukraine with his family at the start of the Russian invasion.
Leonid Shapoval, who arrived at the home of his grandaunt in Ballydehob in west Cork on Monday night, underwent a series of tests throughout the day at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork.
A GoFundMe page set up by Leonid's cousin, Alexander Walden, had raised more than €51,000 this evening. More than 1,400 people have responded to the appeal with donations. Many people made donations of several hundred euro. There was one single donation of €1,000.
Speaking to RTÉ News this evening, Leonid's family say they are overwhelmed and amazed by the response. They have thanked the public for donating and have also expressed their gratitude for the welcome they have received in Ireland, following publicity about Leonid's case.
"It's absolutely amazing - the Irish nation is the best," said Leonid's grandaunt Victoria Walden.
Ms Walden came to Ireland from Ukraine on a work visa in 2001. She lives near Ballydehob with her husband, David, and her son Alexander.
Leonid and his parents, Yana and Serhiy, and Yana's mother, Svitlana Surzhyk, are now living with Victoria.
"We are amazed by the whole thing," Ms Walden said. "We were talking earlier about the response. It has been incredible."
Leonid underwent a series of tests for almost seven hours at Mercy University Hospital in Cork today, before returning home to Ballydehob.
"Everything is under control. All his vital signs are good. He hasn't deteriorated in any way since he left hospital in Ukraine. He's level with where he was, so it's all good," Ms Walden's husband, David, said.
He said the family do not know yet what the next steps will be in Leonid's treatment. He was due to have another session of chemotherapy in Ukraine, before undergoing a bone marrow transplant on 10 March.
Mr Walden said they expect the picture to become clearer when a consultant will be in contact with the family next week.
Leonid was diagnosed with leukemia last July. For the past several weeks, he had been receiving chemotherapy in hospital in Kyiv. He spent the last three months living in a sterile room at another hospital in Cherkasy, closer to his home.
Last Thursday, doctors urged Leonid's parents, Yana and Serhiy, to leave Ukraine immediately, telling them there was no more they could do for him because of the impending Russian invasion.
The family travelled to the Ukrainian-Polish border, before driving to Warsaw.
Ms Walden contacted West Cork independent TD Michael Collins, who brought Leonid's case to the attention of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The family flew to Zurich in Switzerland and on Monday afternoon touched down at Dublin Airport. On Monday night they made the onward journey to west Cork by car, exhausted but safe.
Mr and Mrs Shapoval have thanked Mr Collins for his efforts on the family's behalf.
