Accessible Home for Our Son’s Development

Dear friends -

My wife Larisa and I are asking for your support in getting handicap-accessible housing for our special-needs son Igor.

It took me a long time to write this message, perhaps because it made me feel weak or is a sign of my apathy or loss of faith.

Matthew's Gospel says "Ask and you shall receive." It sounds easy but, like many of you, asking others for help is incredibly difficult for me. It's especially hard to admit that I need outside help to support my own son.

Our son Igor was born 15 years ago and Larisa and I immediately knew that our life would be different and special. He was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy - spastic quadriplegia which severely limits his use of all four limbs and severely delayed psychomotor development. For the 15 years since we heard the shocking news, we have been staying strong for our boy. We traveled the globe to find every doctor, specialist and alternative treatment that we could find. We had been searching and hoping for a treatment that can help our son independently hold a spoon, put on his clothes and tell us what is on his mind. All of our savings is poured into my son's treatment. We do not begrudge this - his wellbeing is the focus of our life. But it does put us in a difficult financial situation.

Right now, as our boy grows into a young man our family is in need of accessible housing. Because of Igor's limited mobility, our apartment is Igor's physical therapy office, school, and playground. When Igor was small, our tiny flat was more than enough to assist with his growth and development. But as our boy grows into a young man, it is clear that our small space is limiting Igor's ability to develop his body and mind.

Finding housing that can accommodate a handicapped individual can be very challenging. We found a bank that is able to finance 80% of the cost for new housing, but we need to raise a down payment, which is hard for us to do alone when all of our finances have been used to pay for treatment. So I am turning to this network of friends, acquaintances and kind strangers to help Larisa and I finance a new home where Igor can thrive.

If you can give $10, $20 or $50, you would make a world of a difference for my family. If that is not within your ability, then we simply ask that you send us your good thoughts and your prayers for our wonderful boy Igor.

Thank you for your kindness and taking the time to read this post.