WELLCOME TO VIKTORIA''S HOMEPAGE....

PLEASE,HELP MY LITTLE DAUGHTER!

We,Viktoria''s parents,wolud like to tell You about our little daughter.
The time we were expecting her was the happiest time
for us.
We were building plans and were filled with hopes, and
we did not even suspect
that something really awful was about to happen.
The long-awaited day had eventually come, and on June
21, 1996 Vika was born.
She did not produce a single sound during the
delivery.
The doctors did not say anything for quite a while.
But as we found out later, the baby was damaged at
birth.
The diagnosis was "Cranio-Spinal Birth Defect".
Our endless suffering began - hospitals, tests,
studies, medicines,...
This was the time of miserable days and sleepless
nights.
Special exercises and massages, Bobot and Voit
methods, acupuncture, etc.
At two months old, we understood that Vika was deaf.
Until 6 months, we fed her through a srecial zond.
Our first joy came when at her meal time (on 12/14/96)
Vika
started moving and smacking with her lips.
Since that day she began eating from a spoon and
drinking
from a cup.
When she was 9 months and 5 days old, Vika gave us her
first smile.
Now her merry and joyful laughter gives warmth to our
hearts.
At 11 months, Vika''s hearing was restored.
At the age of 1 year, the baby was diagnosed with
"Infantile
Cerebral Paralysis" (ICP).

Now Vika is 7 years old. She cannot walk or sit
herself.
She can only say "mama", "papa", "baba", and a few
more sounds.
With a special device, she can move around the room.
Vika understands everything, she adequately reacts to
different
situations, she understands two languages - Russian
and Latvian.
She is a very sociable girl, she enjoys learning new
things with
others and likes people''s attention.
Vika loves to swim - she feels very comfortable in the
water.
For medical reasons, we take her for horse-rides,
which causes
an endless joy on her part.
Vika likes music - sometimes she tries to sing to it.
She loves to be among other children.
For the past two years Vika was attending a
kindergarten
for normal children.
Here is what her kindergarten teacher, Diana
Stafetska, says
about her:
"Vika first came to our kindergarten "Zvaninsh" two
years ago.
The most amazing thing is that being around Vika, our
children
became more sociable with each other, began to care
more about
each other.
Despite Vika''s limited capabilities, the children
treat her
equally, they learn to work together and to be helpful
to each
other.
Vika has been a great enrichment to the life of our
class.
I have been learning a lot about how to work with such
kids.
I am trying to do a good job.
I try to implant into the kids'' hearts the basics of
love, warmth,
and care for people around us.
In the case of Vika, I work on her skills for a
successful
adaptation to the society.
And the children, while communicating with Vika, began
to understand
better the meaning of such words as "help, patience,
and care".
Every day that Vika comes to us becomes special
because
Vika is herself very special.
And we are happy for the opportunity to be with her.
This year Vika is leaving for a special school for
children with
limited abilities and we feel very sad about parting
with her."

Everyone who has ever known Viktoria will never forget
this life-loving
girl.
People always ask about her life, achievements, and
health.


Our struggle for the child''s health is not over
because there is hope...
We learned about Dr. A.P.Efimov (see the reference on
the Center for
Family Rehabilitation).
We gathered the necessary resources and were able to
meet with this doctor.
It turned out that the original diagnosis "Infantile
Cerebral Paralysis" (ICP)
was absolutely incorrect.
Vika''s disease is the result of a birth damage, with
the ICP-like
symptoms.
The rehabilitation methods proposed by Dr. Efimov give
hope that
our Vika may restore the main functional capacities.
Her treatment will be long and expensive and will
require us to raise
quite substantial funds.
We ask everyone who feels compassionate with
Viktoria''s life
to support her and prove that there are no hopeless
situations.