“Seventeen years have passed and all the memories are so fresh, I’m trying to accept the departure, but there is a wound in my heart that won’t heal until we meet again. It’s hard to talk about, only those who have experienced it can understand. Time doesn’t heal wounds, but because of the people you love and who surround you, you have to move on. I will never get used to Ana being gone. The foundation for me is Ana, and I give myself one hundred percent to that. Over the years, our activities have changed and new goals have been set over time , but my concern, my thoughts and my responsibility are always the same, to help people when it’s most difficult, so that there are not ‘a lot of bald heads’ as Ana wished while she was lying in the sterile unit on Rib”, she said on the occasion of the sad anniversary of Ana’s premature departure Mrs. Marija Rukavina, Ana’s mother and manager of the Ana Rukavina Foundation.
That Sunday morning 17 years ago, our Ana left us too soon, but her love for life lives on through 168 people who were given the chance to live thanks to her vision of expanding the Croatian Register of Voluntary Donors of Blood-forming Stem Cells and the Cord Blood Bank for public needs. which bears her name. He lives through the hope of patients who are going through a difficult period of struggle today. It lives on through each of the eight doctors and nurses who, thanks to your donations, received the opportunity for professional training in the best world and European clinics in order to provide patients with the highest quality treatment, but also a nice and comforting word that sometimes heals more effectively than anything else. He lives even through the necessary medical devices that the Ana Rukavina Foundation donated to hospitals, which enable faster and better diagnostics and even treatment itself. And he lives on through all of you who have trusted us and helped us with volunteering, donations and selfless support for the past 17 years.”
And 17 years after her premature departure, Ana still lives through her optimistic words and the endless love she had for life and people.
Dear Ana, thank you. You will be forever in our hearts and minds
Rest in peace!