Strong for three: Maryna saved herself and her sons to Germany. It wasn’t easy, because Dimitriy has Möbius syndrome.
Image: Frank Röth
It is almost impossible for seriously ill or disabled children to flee from the Russian bombs. A few made it anyway. But what happens next? A visit to a hotel in Kelsterbach.
An the end, Dimitriy escapes on a skateboard. It’s spring, the days when the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is still being bombed by Russian troops. Dimitriy’s mother Maryna, a nurse and physiotherapist, one of the resolute types, has been sitting in the basement with him and his twin brother Vova for days. She hears gunshots. And yet she sees no way of escaping with her sons.
Dimitriy has Möbius Syndrome. That means: He has severe paralysis. Almost all of the muscles on the left side of the body are missing. He can hardly move his face, it almost always lies completely flat, without a frown, but also without a hearty laugh. Dimitriy is ill with life-threatening illness. That means he will likely die before he grows up. The doctors had actually told Maryna that the disabled twin would not be more than one year old. But she doesn’t believe in it and has been proving the opposite ever since. Thanks to her care, daily massages and exercises, Dimitriy no longer has to be fed through a tube in her nose. He can be fed with a spoon. He even climbs stairs – at least with a little help. And he’s eight years old now.