Community generosity helps reunite Ukrainian family
Ukrainian singer Roman Vashchuk has always had a superpower — bringing people together through the power of music. Throughout his career, he’s sung in orphanages, churches, prisons, nursing homes and more across Europe and the United States, moving others with his voice.
While visiting Washington last February to perform at a concert, Roman started feeling sick. His friends urged him to go to the hospital, but he was hesitant because he didn’t have insurance coverage in the U.S.
“His suitcases were ready to go, but he was feeling so bad,” remembers his wife Roza, who was back in the Ukraine at the time. “He had a fever for a few days, took two COVID tests and they were negative — we were thinking he was OK. Then he lost consciousness. He couldn’t even go upstairs because it was too hard for him, and he was so weak.”
On Feb. 13, 2022, Roman’s loved ones finally convinced him to visit MultiCare Auburn Medical Center’s emergency department. Once there, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital. He was diagnosed with myocarditis (a rare disease marked by inflammation and damage of the heart), a clot in his heart and heart failure.
All Roman could think about was returning to Roza and their three children — then 10, 7 and almost 2 — who were nearly 5,500 miles away in Kyiv, Ukraine.
“The doctor told me, ‘If you fly right now to the Ukraine, you probably won’t make it because you have a clot, and it’s dangerous for you to fly,’” Roman recalls. “I really wanted to go home because my family was far away. I really wanted life back home.”
Less than a week after his diagnosis, the news struck. Russia invaded Ukraine, targeting cities like Kyiv, where Roman’s family was waiting for him to come home. The weeks following brought unimaginable chaos, with Roman feeling helpless from afar.
“It was a terrible time in our lives,” Roman says. “We were really scared about it. It was a really hard time for my family.”
Recovering amid chaos
Over the next month, Roman had two priorities: getting his family to safety and recovering. In early March, he was referred to Pulse Heart Institute’s Center for Heart Failure for treatment, while his wife and children fled to a Poland refugee camp.
At Pulse, Roman connected with hospital social worker Jenn Bayne. Part of Bayne’s work involves empowering patients like Roman to overcome obstacles to care that can prevent them from getting better and lead to hospital readmissions.
“When Roman came to the Heart Failure Clinic, his wife and children were still trapped in Ukraine attempting to escape to Poland,” Bayne shares. “As distressing as having a heart failure diagnosis can be for most people, it’s even harder to focus on taking that pill every day, or locating where to go for your hospital follow-up, while your family is in serious danger.
“Now imagine trying to pay for health care in a foreign country where you can’t even be legally employed and now need to take specialty medications to survive,” she continues. “That’s where MultiCare and the Helping Hands fund stepped in to support Roman and his family.”
Powered by community donations, the Helping Hands fund supports costs that aren’t covered by insurance. Using the fund and partnering with the pharmaceutical manufacturer, Bayne helped cover the cost of Roman’s essential heart failure medication (costing upward of $500 a month), along with connecting him to resources like gas gift cards to help him get to and from medical appointments.
“When Jenn told me that my medicine was covered, I had tears in my eyes,” Roman shares. “It was amazing, and I didn’t expect it.”
Reunited in Seattle
In the months that followed, Roman’s wife and children safely made it to the U.S., where they were reunited with Roman. Now just over a year since his diagnosis, Roman is happy to share that his health has steadily improved. Despite undergoing the unimaginable difficulty of the past year, he’s returned to the stage, using his voice to continue breaking down barriers and bringing people together.
“His incredible determination and hard work were only augmented by this help,” Bayne explains. “Recovery is important, but not having to worry about it while your family is in mortal danger is priceless, and I’m so grateful to MultiCare for giving this gift to him.”
In February 2023, Roman was recognized as the Kraken Unity Fund Hero of the Deep, created in partnership by the Seattle Kraken, One Roof Foundation and Starbucks. The fund honors individuals doing outstanding work to “transform lives, enable resiliency and uplift and unite our community across the Pacific Northwest.” Recipients select a nonprofit to receive a donation of $32,000.
Roman chose to donate to the Ukrainian Community Center of Washington, a social service nonprofit helping refugees and immigrants overcome language, cultural, educational and social barriers since 1998.
Roman and his family are grateful for the many people who have been part of their journey. People like Bayne, who Roman shares is “like a friend,” his MultiCare doctors and nurses, as well as the donors committed to helping patients like him.
“Thank you so much for everything,” he shares. “[You] are like angels, and [you] helped me be still alive.”
You can help address barriers to care for families like the Vashchuks
