Papa Dima's daughter told us that they went to visit Sarah at the hospital when she had broken her hip and that she was FUMING mad because they tied her to the bed. Yes, that is my Sarah. :)
I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her, after being confined all those years and then having to go back and get tied in a bed! Poor baby.
I wanted to show the video of the Sanitarium, because MANY children live here for periods of time. They get TB, and then are institutionalized. Some come from orphanages, some go back to homes. Many are abandoned.
Sarah must have caught TB in a hospital or laying room, because she was abandoned at birth.
The darkness of this place was overpowering. It was COLD... it was DARK, the dark you see, was REALLY THAT DARK... the children were precious, and many had no hope.
I remember a young boy in particular who cried the entire time we were there. He was in total despair. My heart broke for him.
I am haunted by the things we saw in Ukraine. I think of the children left behind all the time. Most of these children are most likely on the street or ready to be turned onto the streets, as this was taken 6 years ago next month. :(
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Both Sergei and Zhenya spent time in TB hospitals. Sergei's story is the most powerful in a number of ways, and I just heard more about it this week. One short piece of it is that while we were chatting he remembered something he hadn't recalled before - giving a nurse the finger! That is SO unlike him, and he was embarrassed just to tell me, and somewhat amazed he'd done such a thing... Makes me think the nurses in these places have quite a time of it.
The darkness.... Our hotel in Ivanovo was dark in the same way. And so were so many places we went - all public offices. The first trip it was creepy, then I got used to it. Now I know that it is probably a GOOD thing, as in ecologically sound! Ilya is a non-stop advocate for turning lights off. He's very much "Russian Ways are Good Ways" when it comes to just about anything.
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