Larysa Kosach-Kvitka – known by her literary pseudonym Lesia Ukrainka – was born on February 25, 1871. She died on August 1, 1913, at the age of 42 following a life-long battle with tuberculosis. The illness struck when she was still a young girl. It developed first in her hands, then her legs and finally in her lungs. As a result of both her illness and the treatments she received at the time to fight her tuberculosis, she could write only in irregular intervals. She spent much of her life seeking medical help in the Caucasus, Egypt, Germany and Italy. Despite the severe and often debilitating physical struggles she endured, Ukrainka maintained a deep optimism and hope for the future.