Meet Dana and Lylia: Lylia is distraught as she holds her 13 year old granddaughter, Dana. “Please forgive my tears. I didn’t mean to start crying the minute you walked in the door. But I am so scared. I’m getting older, and I know that as soon as I die, my daughter will put Dana in an orphanage. She doesn’t want her.” Dana lives with her grandmother in a small apartment in Minsk, Belarus. Dana has cerebral palsy, scoliosis, and a painful deformity of both of her feet. She cannot speak. They are part of CCI’s Community Care program. The program helps families care for their seriously disabled children at home, rather than institutionalize them. As we talk, Dana is in constant motion, and her grandmother struggles to keep her from falling. “Dana had a twin, a brother. He was also sick. He died at 5 months. Zana’s mother and father just couldn’t deal with what happened. I took Dana when she was one year old because they were going to give her to an orphanage. Now it’s been 12 years, and I stay awake at night worrying about what will happen to her when I’m gone.” “Chernobyl Children International sends a massage therapist, and occupational and physical therapists to see Dana. After Alexander, the physical therapist, started coming Dana began to be able to walk a little. The therapists show me how to do the exercises on my own, so we work hard, Dana and I, to help her improve her strength and range of movement. The massage therapy minimizes her muscle spasms and pain. We don’t get any sort of therapeutic support from the state.” “Dana loves her mother, and both she and Dana’s father visit from time to time. I keep hoping they will fall in love with her. But I don’t know.” “Dana’s parents aren’t interested in the therapy. I think they’ve given up hope -- but I’m in charge here. We keep working on it. I don’t know what the future holds for my granddaughter, but as long as I am alive, I want to make sure that she has a good life, free from pain.” You can support CCIs Community Care program with your donation at chernobyl-international/donate
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 13:45:00 +0000
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