After this baby was born, a nurse briefly left him all by himself. What happened seconds later is truly horrifying. The cry of a newborn baby echoed through the halls of the maternity ward—a familiar sound that brought smiles to the faces of the hospital staff and visitors. It was a moment of joy; a new life had entered the world. But amidst the happiness, the young mother, Yarina, felt a sense of dread wash over her as the nurse placed the baby boy in her arms.
Yekaterina gazed at him with a mix of emotions. Instead of feeling the expected elation, she was consumed by thoughts of uncertainty and fear. How would she care for this tiny human? She was struggling to survive on her own, living in poverty and barely scraping by. The weight of her situation crushed her. Yekaterina was alone, with no support system, no stable income, and no safe place to call home. The addition of a child would only add to her struggles. She envisioned a future of endless hardships, both for her and her child.
As she looked at her baby, Yekaterina felt a pang of guilt. She knew she couldn’t provide the life he deserved. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about the sacrifices she would have to make—the sleepless nights, the endless worries, and the constant struggle to make ends meet. The nurse noticed her distress and tried to reassure her, but the teenage mother’s mind was racing. She felt trapped, unsure of how to escape the cycle of poverty and provide a better life for her child.
Her cries echoed through the hospital room. Her body shook uncontrollably as she yelled at the nurse to take the baby away. “I don’t want it! I don’t want anything to do with it!” she screamed, her eyes wild with desperation. The nurse, taken aback by the woman’s outburst, quickly but gently took the baby from her arms. She had never seen a new mother react like this before, but this was just the beginning.
Nothing prepared the nurses for what she did next. Yarina suddenly ripped the IV tubes from her arms, wincing in pain as the needles were pulled out. She tried to stand up, but her legs buckled beneath her. She staggered, her vision blurring as the sudden movement overwhelmed her. Other nurses in the room rushed to her side, trying to calm her down and restrain her. They urged her to lie down and rest since she had just given birth, but the woman was beyond reason.
Yekaterina struggled against their hold, her arms flailing, her legs kicking wildly. She shouted at them, telling them she needed to get out of the hospital immediately. The nurses held her firmly, trying to calm her down, but she was too hysterical to be comforted. Her body shook with fear and adrenaline as she thrashed about, her eyes frantically scanning the room, searching for a way out. She begged the nurses to let her go.
The nurses struggled to calm her down and restore peace to the room, but she kept begging them to let her leave. She feared that if she stayed any longer, she might change her mind and decide to keep the baby. As Yekaterina continued to struggle and cry, the nurses realized they had no choice but to sedate her. They administered a gentle sedative, hoping it would calm her down and help her sleep. They knew the risks of her moving too soon after labor, and they couldn’t let her put her health in danger.
The nurse who held the baby boy looked at the mother and child with pity. She saw how young the woman was, barely out of her teenage years, and guessed that she had no support system to rely on. The nurse’s heart went out to her, and she vowed to take care of the baby until his mother was ready to care for him herself. As the woman slept, the nurse tended to the baby, feeding him, changing his diapers, and soothing his cries. She couldn’t help but wonder what had driven the young mother to such desperation.
When the woman finally woke up, the nurse was by her side, looking at her with a firm but kind gaze. “Calm down and listen to me,” she said gently. “You’re lucky to have given birth to this beautiful son. No matter what your circumstances are, don’t give up hope yet. Things will get better with time.” The young mother began to sob silently and started telling the older nurse about her condition. She had no help, no job, and no money to provide for the baby. The nurse consoled her and told her to hold on to her son. She might regret it later on if she abandoned him.
The frightened mother then took her child from the nurse’s arms and looked at his face for the first time. She choked back a sob, saying, “I’m so sorry, dear,” before wiping the tears from her eyes. She had gone through a lot to get to where she was. She named the boy Matvey.
Yekaterina Zareno was a 19-year-old woman. She had lived with her parents in a small town in Moscow. Yekaterina fell in love with her boyfriend but unexpectedly became pregnant. She had planned on attending college the following year before she found out about her pregnancy. Her parents were furious when she told them the news. Her father angrily threw her out of the house, calling her a disgrace to their family name. Her mother cried and asked her where she went wrong. She had tried her best to raise Yarina well, so why did she do this?
Yekaterina begged them to reconsider, but they refused, telling her to go meet the father of her child. With her last hope in her boyfriend, Yarina set off to tell him. However, the man denied being responsible for her child. He refused to accept the pregnancy and sent her away. Yekaterina couldn’t believe how her life had shattered in such a short time. She was left all alone with nowhere to go. She found a shelter to sleep in and begged on the street to survive. She spent the remaining months of her pregnancy in regret and loneliness, although she never once thought of ending the pregnancy.
After weeks and months of suffering and pain, it was almost time for Yarina to give birth. She feared no one would help her when she went into labor, so she came up with a plan. She calculated the time she had left until her due date, estimating a time frame. Yarina found a local church in Tula, south of Moscow, and decided to stay near the hospital for a few days until she finally went into labor. Yekaterina’s smart thinking paid off when her water broke two days later. She was able to go into the hospital for help without much difficulty. The nurses at the clinic had noticed her hanging around during that time and sprang into action immediately when they saw her.
Yarina received help, and a few hours later, she gave birth to a baby boy. Holding her son, Matvey, in her arms, Yekaterina wondered how they were going to survive. She had come all this way, and now the little boy was hers. She smiled at his gentle face, thinking sadly that he didn’t deserve to suffer with her. One of the nurses who had tried to calm her down earlier walked past the room and saw the mother and child smiling. She was glad that the chaotic phase was over—at least, that’s what she thought.
Three days after Matvey was born, the doctors noticed that he had developed jaundice. Jaundice is common among children; it causes the skin and the whites of the eyes to turn yellow. For most babies, it isn’t serious and goes away within a few weeks, but some children require treatment. Matvey was one of those who needed treatment. The doctors assured Yekaterina that he would be fine in no time and that she didn’t need to worry.
The doctors immediately prescribed light therapy for Matvey. He had to lie under a special lamp for a few hours a day. The treatment was harmless, effective, and had no side effects when administered appropriately. The child would be fine in a few weeks; however, supervision was necessary due to the nature of the lamp. The doctor in charge of Matvey’s treatment assigned the supervision role to one of the junior nurses in the clinic. He strictly instructed her to always monitor Matvey and never leave him unattended. She had to watch him at all times. The nurse nodded obediently, and the doctor made sure everything was ready.
They placed Matvey under the lamp, and then the doctor left him with the appointed nurse. Matvey lay under the lamp for about an hour. The nurse had been shuffling between working on her computer and checking on the child every few minutes. She suddenly realized that she had forgotten to do something—she was supposed to have submitted a report to the matron of the hospital, but it had slipped her mind since she was tasked with watching Matvey. She scolded herself for forgetting a crucial deadline. If she didn’t submit the report on time, she knew the matron would be upset. She imagined the matron’s angry reaction and felt anxious. Then she thought, why not take a quick break from watching Matvey, submit the report, and come right back? It would only take a few minutes. She debated this for a while before convincing herself that she had enough time to submit her report quickly and return to Matvey. She thought nothing could go wrong in those few minutes, but she was very wrong.
The nurse swiftly made her final decision and rushed out of the room to submit her report, leaving Matvey alone for just two minutes. But in that brief moment, chaos erupted above Matvey’s crib. The light bulb suddenly exploded, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. A small spark from the bulb ignited, growing into a full-blown fire that engulfed the lamp. The nurse returned to find the room in
disarray. She gasped in shock, her eyes wide with horror. How did this happen? she thought. She had only been gone for two minutes.
Panic set in as she tried to cover up her mistake. She grabbed a nearby diaper and threw it over the lamp, hoping to smother the flames, but her quick thinking only made things worse. The lamp exploded again, sending burning pieces of the diaper raining down on Matvey’s crib. The nurse was paralyzed with fear, her hands frozen as she watched the horror unfold. The flames danced across the crib, threatening to engulf the sleeping baby. The nurse’s mistake had put Matvey’s life in danger, and she knew she had to act fast to save him.
It was a gruesome sight as the nurse began to cry and scream for help. Other nurses rushed in. They all tried to put out the fire while someone called the fire department. By the time the team of firefighters arrived, enough damage had been done. The fire was extinguished, and Matvey was rushed to the emergency room to assess the extent of his wounds. The doctors could hardly contain their shock and pity as they saw how much pain this baby was in. The nurse who had been in charge of him was questioned. The doctor who had given her the orders to stay with Matvey was the one who questioned her. She apologized profusely for being so careless and disobedient.
Matvey’s tiny body suffered severe burns, covering 75% of his body. The flames had ravaged his small organs, causing damage that would take months to heal. Miraculously, he survived, but his pain was unbearable. The hospital was plunged into a day of sorrow as medical staff and visitors alike couldn’t bear to look at Matvey’s charred skin without feeling a deep sense of anguish. His once soft and delicate skin was now an appalling sight, covered in blisters and burns.
When Yekaterina, Matvey’s mother, received the news, she collapsed to the floor. She couldn’t comprehend the horror that had befallen her child. Rushing to Matvey’s side, she was met with a sight that made her blood run cold. She let out a shocked gasp, her eyes fixed on the burns that covered her son’s body. “What did you do to my son?” she yelled, her voice echoing through the hospital corridors. She had thought Matvey just had jaundice, but this—this was something entirely different. Yarina was consumed by confusion and anger, demanding answers from the medical staff. How could this have happened? What had gone so terribly wrong?
A few days after the incident, Yekaterina made a huge decision. She had seen that Matvey’s wounds would require a lot of medical treatment, which needed money that she didn’t have. She couldn’t bear the weight of having to spend so much on him when she could hardly earn enough for herself. Yekaterina felt overwhelmed by the weight of Matvey’s condition. She couldn’t bear the thought of caring for a child with such severe burns, especially when she was still trying to figure out her own life. The responsibility felt too much to handle.
So she made the difficult decision to leave Matvey behind. She waited until nightfall, when the hospital was quieter, and slipped out of Matvey’s room unnoticed. She didn’t look back, fearing that if she saw her son’s fragile body, she might change her mind. With a heavy heart, she made her way to the bus station and boarded the next bus to a town far from Tula, seeking a fresh start.
Meanwhile, back at the hospital, the nurses and doctors were frantic when they discovered Yekaterina was gone. They were deeply concerned about Matvey’s future. Their pity turned to the little child, who had already suffered so much in his short life. “What would happen to him now?” they whispered among themselves. “Who will care for him?” The hospital staff couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness and helplessness as they tended to Matvey’s burns, wondering what the future held for this innocent child.
Matvey’s story soon hit the media. Several newspapers reported what had happened to the infant, and before long, the entire country knew about his situation. After the fire incident, the police launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. It was revealed that the machine had a fault that hadn’t been fixed before it was used on Matvey. A director at the hospital was sentenced to three and a half months in prison after the cause of the fire was disclosed. The careless nurse also faced the law.
Following the breaking news about Matvey, hospitals, volunteers, human rights activists, and several families offered to help him. They viewed it as an unfortunate incident, and the pain Matvey had suffered touched the hearts of many, prompting them to extend their support. However, some had ulterior motives. Some individuals wanted to adopt Matvey after witnessing his rise to fame. They aimed to take advantage of his spotlight, which would attract donations and other benefits, seeking a share for themselves. Such people frequently visited Matvey, bringing him gifts and playing with him.
One woman named Svetlana also showed interest in adopting the boy. She had volunteered several times at the hospital to care for Matvey and had grown fond of him. Unlike others, Svetlana genuinely loved Matvey and wanted the best for him. Her family also helped out, and they all wished to make Matvey a part of their family. The authorities recognized that many people interested in adopting Matvey had ulterior motives, so they knew they couldn’t place him with just anyone. They conducted a thorough investigation of all the interested parties and their families, ultimately concluding that Svetlana was the best option.
The adoption process took almost two months, but Svetlana stood by Matvey’s side and fought for him alongside several women. It was a difficult time, but eventually, Svetlana was given the adoption papers. Matvey was now officially a part of her family. Matvey moved in with Svetlana and her family. The little boy was loved in his new home and grew up surrounded by care. He underwent multiple surgeries for his injuries as he got older, gradually becoming stronger. Svetlana was very proud of her son. Despite suffering more than most adults as a child, he stood strong and resilient.
As a teenager, Matvey discovered a passion for painting that would change his life forever. He spent hours improving his craft, and his talent quickly became obvious. His artwork, particularly his portraits of celebrities, gained widespread attention, and soon he was in high demand. Agencies and galleries competed for his attention, eager to represent him and showcase his work. Matvey’s success was spectacular, and he became a national art sensation. His paintings were sought after by collectors and fans alike, and he was hailed as a genius in the art world.
But Matvey’s success wasn’t limited to the art world; he also excelled in his studies, and his grades improved dramatically. His family, who had supported him every step of the way, beamed with pride. Svetlana, his legal guardian, and her family had given him a loving home, and Matvey knew he owed his happiness to them.
Just as Matvey’s life was falling into place, a figure from his past reappeared. Yekaterina, his birth mother, showed up unexpectedly, claiming that Matvey was her son and demanding to be a part of his life. But Matvey was unforgiving. He had heard the story of how she had abandoned him in the hospital after his accident, leaving him to suffer alone. Matvey told Yekaterina that he didn’t need her. She shouldn’t have abandoned him when he was a baby. He was with a loving family who supported him and stood by him. He was better off without her.
Yekaterina was completely broken by Matvey’s rejection. She had expected him to welcome her with open arms, but instead, he turned her away. She realized too late that her decision to abandon him had consequences, and now Matvey was lost to her forever. Svetlana and her family were his legal guardians, and Matvey was happy to have them in his life.
