A baby boy was welcomed into the world at an Ukrainian hospital, but his life wasn’t going to start at the comfort of his home or by his parents’ side. Unfortunately, realizing that he didn’t resemble like any other child, his mom and dad decided to leave him at the hospital. They wanted nothing to do with a baby that experienced health issues right after birth, so they simply gave up on him.

After spending some time with the doctors and nurses who took care of him, baby Dima was eventually taken in by an orphanage for children with disabilities in Kramatorsk, Eastern Ukraine.

Dima suffered from a condition known as hydrocephalus, an abnormal buildup of fluid in the ventricles (cavities) deep within the brain. This condition is chronic and can be controlled, but at the time being, there is no cure for it.

Luckily, with appropriate early treatment many people with hydrocephalus lead normal lives with few limitations.When it came to Dima, he didn’t show much progress as time passed by. At the age of four, he was still unable to walk or eat by himself, which worried the staff at the orphanage.