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Friday, August 5, 2022
Vol. 71, No. 31
BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY
RETURNING HOME A HERO MAKER
LAFAZAN MAKES CASE FOR CD3 NOMINATION
PAGES S1-S52
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Ukrainian girl given new chance at life
GETTING GROOVY
Gift of Life aids Polina Shchepaniak in receiving vital heart operation BY ST E V E N K E E H N E R Eight-year-old Polina Shchepaniak was preparing for a heart operation in March to correct a congenital condition diagnosed during her first few weeks of life. Then came Russia’s invasion of her homeland in Ukraine. “All eight years were in fear that Polina has been sick,” said Kateryna Shchepaniak, Polina’s mother. “It’s hard. It can be like high temperatures, like stomach flu. Since she was little, it can be hard. Every time she was sick, we must give her antibiotics because of the heart. It was scary for us.” Fortunately for Polina, now 9, the Gift-of-Life, led by two Manhasset Rotary members, stepped in. The Gift of Life arranged for Polina and her family to come to the United States and have surgery at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn where the organization started in 1975. Since then, they have performed surgery on over 43,000 kids from 80 different countries thanks to its extensive global network. They also give equipment and training in countries that lack it so that local doctors can carry out the procedures on their own. Polina was born with an atrial septal defect. It is a cardiac birth abnormality in which there is a hole in the
septum, the wall between the upper chambers of the heart (atria). Every year, 40,000 infants are born in the United States alone with a cardiac abnormality. Gift of Life International’s CEO Rob Raylman said if detected, an American newborn will undergo treatment within the first six months of their life. Robbie Donno, the founder and president of Gift of Life, said that the well-being of a child is universal. Although Russia’s invasion began on Ukraine’s eastern front, bombings continue to happen across the country. This included Lviv, on the western side of the country, near the Polish border, where the Schepaniak family was located. “I always asked my husband if it will be something,” said Kateryna Schepaniak. “All people said no, no, it can’t be on the on this territory, like Donbas.” Raylman contacted Dr. Dmytro Besh, Polina’s cardiologist, who he knew from prior charitable endeavors as soon as the invasion started. Polina was the first child on the list when he inquired about pediatric heart surgery patients from Ukraine. Everything came together within a few weeks of getting the news. They traveled from Lviv to Kraków, Poland. Continued on Page 38
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VILLAGE OF MINEOLA
That 70’s Band performed at the Mineola Memorial Park Amphitheater on Saturday, July 30.
New Superintendent Sinanis ready to share BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y
munity has in the district. “I knew from people in the disAhead of his first school year as trict that there was a tremendous the new superintendent of Herricks, amount of pride,” Sinanis said in an Tony Sinanis said he is looking for- interview with Blank Slate Media. ward to sharing the pride the com- “This sense of community was very
important and centered in Herricks.” Sinanis joins Herricks with more than a quarter century of educational experience in New York under his belt. He most recently served as the Continued on Page 39
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