“At 14, Yulia Hicks has already had more than her share of bad luck.
Brought from Ukraine to the United States in December 2018, she was given up by her first two adoptive families before Chrissy and Lee Hicks adopted her in 2021. She suffers from Senior Loken Syndrome, a genetic condition that is destroying her kidneys and eyes and will soon force her to have a kidney transplant.
Now Yulia is facing another crisis, this one seemingly caused by her own physicians.
Doctors at Duke University, where Yulia has been awaiting a kidney transplant, have told her parents they will not give her a new kidney unless she is vaccinated against Covid – even though Yulia has already had and recovered from Covid.”