Spread Sunshine Updates

by Danielle Kuznetsov

In honor of this month’s newsletter’s theme, T he Promise of Spring, I want to introduce you to Olesya Desnyanskaya.

Since 2013, Olesya has worked as the director of the Otkazniki programs focused on prevention of social orphanhood. I wish you could meet her in person and hear her story. It is one of a PROMISE and a fantastic kickstart to all the good beginnings that the spring offers. Getting to know the people inside the organizations AWO supports is a privilege for me and one of the perks of my job! I have an inside view of their work and who they are as a person, and it makes our AWO contribution so much more meaningful.

Olesya was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. Her mother comes from a big loving family. Her father was orphaned at age one when his parents were killed by the invasion in WWII. He lived in 14 different orphanages in Ukraine, but by a miracle, grew up a psychologically whole person. He graduated from Mechmath of Moscow State University, became a teacher, got married at 35, and came into the fold of his new wife’s family. “We have always been my dad’s life,” she says affectionately.

Olesya graduated from MGU and began working in the airline safety industry and although the job was a good one, she felt no connection to the work she was doing. In 2010, she began volunteering for Otkazniki and immediately knew this was the job of her life. The connection with her father having been an orphan himself left her with a desire to make a difference in the lives of other children with no families. She is convinced that everything about who she was exactly matches the work she is called to do, and the work she is called to do is what saved her life.

“In the late fall of 2015, sores came out on my hands that would not heal. The dermatologist prescribed cream saying it was something connected with my immune system. Then, as the sores healed, I began having a temperature and bleeding of my gums, my throat hurt and my glands swelled. I continued seeing various doctors and was told I was having an immune system issue. I knew something was wrong and through my own research I eliminated AIDS right away as my symptoms did not match but realized I had Leukemia. I called a friend to take me for a blood test. The blood results showed off -he-chart blood counts. Calling an ambulance was my only way out. The ambulance brought me directly to the hospital thanks to the on-call doctor who agreed with my hunch. I would have lost a lot of time otherwise. This is one of the reasons I am still here, I believe. That and staring my fear right in the face and moving ahead quickly with the medical community.”

“The road was long and filled with pain, but not once was I left alone in this. My parents were a great help and source of strength, and my friends and colleagues at Otkazniki made my healing their priority. The first month it was too difficult for me to focus on my treatment plan. My friends at work took over and created a plan. Someone was always there to take me to the appointments. When I needed a donor for a bone marrow transplant - within 3 days the 1.5 million ruble price tag was raised. When I needed blood, strangers donated - I was never without blood! When I needed company, someone was there; ice for the pain, within 2 hours it was in my hands; help to walk and friend strolled in, something to read, something to eat, something to take my mind off the pain-all of these needs were filled by my Otkazniki family. December 31 arrived and so did my Christmas tree, angels, and gifts, and a room full of the balloons that I had hoped to see once I recovered and went home. This love carried me when I had no strength to even gargle or think past the minute I was living in. Death was at my doorstep, but these dear people kept me fighting for life.”

“My second birthdate, July 7, 2016, was a time of learning how to live again. I depended upon my mother to assist me with the milestones of independence and finally in February 2019 I graduated to a ‘normal’ life and she moved home. I worked part time for a while to gain stamina and eventually returned to my full-time schedule and all the people who brought me through. This experience taught me so much about fear and the strength one gets from walking straight into it to get to the other side. It also taught me about living my life intentionally from this moment on, taking care of my body, and investing in relationships that are dear to me. It is how I take a stand against the fear of relapse (we’ll call a spade a spade here) and remind myself to not spend a single day of my life on some unnecessary nonsense.”

“I had always thought about adopting-maybe that is connected to my own father’s history. I am not sure. However, in June 2019, once life returned to normal, I broke the news to my parents and began to pursue this dream. My parents were worried about how I would find the mental and physical energy to adjust. I was not. I am now the proud mother of a beautiful teen girl, Nastya. She knows my whole story and I know hers. We are learning a lot about life together. Everything that I have to give her is the very same everything that saved me in the hospital.”