Inna called Olga again to confirm they had arrived and settled and thanked her once again for all her help and everything she had done. Olga told Inna to make sure that Jamie was comfortable and that her son would be popping by shortly to ensure everything was all right. She will be back from the country in a couple of days.
While Inna made some tea and looked at the photographs on Olga’s sideboard of Olga sitting with Princess Diana, with the Queen and Russian government officials, Jamie sorted his things and freshened up.
That Sunday evening they had arranged to meet Andrey at a local café to plan the week ahead. It was going to be a very busy week, and very hard work. Time was critically important; they would have so much to do, every day from early morning until late at night. It wasn’t going to be easy, even more tiring for Inna who was going to have to travel from Zelenograd into Moscow and back. Andrey, Jamie and Inna met at ‘Moo Moo’ café and restaurant on Arbat Street in the centre of the city. Once home of the Russian aristocracy and where the famous Russian poet Pushkin once lived, Arbat is probably the tourist street of Moscow. With its stalls and buskers, peddlers and artists, restaurants and souvenir shops, it stretched from metro Arbatskaya at the junction of Nikitskiy Boulevard to McDonald’s at Smolenskaya. On warm summer evenings, Arbat is always full with Russians and foreigners alike, strolling slowly along its route, browsing, eating ice-cream, and stopping occasionally to listen to the buskers or watch the street theatre.
Jamie told Inna that Andrey was one of the best prosthetists in Moscow and again Inna was surprised with how young Andrey was. She expected an expert in his field to have been a lot older, but, like Jamie he was also in his late twenties or early thirties. As they sat and discussed the week ahead, Inna told Jamie about the conversation she had had with Maria a few days earlier. The plan was, as long as everything was back to normal with Maria - and they would only know that once they met her the following morning - that Maria would stay at the Russian American Family Medical Centre for a week while Jamie and Andrey went backwards and forwards to the workshop. Inna had called the Clinic the day before and confirmed that they would be arriving at 10 o’clock that following Monday morning. She had spoken to them about the project and their requirements and the doctor in charge confirmed that everything would be fine and was looking forward to meeting them all.
Inna called Maria and yet again she seemed odd, unusual, not her normal self. She reluctantly arranged to meet Andrey at 9 in the morning. He would pick her up from the train station and take her over to the clinic where they would meet Inna and Jamie. Maria no longer lived at the hostel, she moved out shortly after she had met Inna and our benefactor there; the hostel owners could no longer continue to offer Maria a discount on the room. Through their initial kindheartedness, they had only charged her 50 roubles a night for the whole time she had been living there, but they now asked for four-times that amount. Rumour might have circulated that Maria knew some wealthy foreigners and could now perhaps afford to pay more, but Maria simply could not afford it and so found a room in the village of Lunevo about 15 miles from Moscow. Sasha and Irina, whom she stayed with when she first escaped the gypsies, lived in the next village.
What was wrong with Maria and why was she behaving in the way that she was? She wasn’t the Maria that everyone had got to know and love, she wasn’t the optimistic Maria, the Maria that wanted to get off the streets. Was this all going to fall apart at the very last minute? Something was really wrong and the following day was going to decide what eventually was going to happen to everyone, and everything.
No one slept particularly well that night. Inna escorted Jamie back to the apartment and then caught the late metro and bus back to Zelenograd. It took her almost two hours to get home, and, even though she was exhausted and had to be up extra early the next day to get back into Moscow in enough time to meet Jamie and get over to the Clinic, couldn’t sleep well either, tossing and turning and thinking about Maria. She understood that there was a reason; there must be as nobody changes that quickly and that dramatically without a reason. Was now possible that, because of Maria’s bizarre new attitude and mind-set, everything will be called off and everyone would return to England and Maria would continue with her life on the streets and her rickety wooden platform? She felt sad for Maria because she knew that her life could ultimately change, if only she opened her eyes and trusted the people around her that were trying to make it happen. Inna lay on her bed looking up at the ceiling wondering if it was all in vain, did Maria really want what we thought she wanted or was it just us, fooling ourselves, being just another couple of do- gooders? Was it just us that wanted Maria to walk again? Had everything been arranged and planned just because we thought that it was what Maria wanted and not what she wanted herself? Or did she really want to walk comfortably again? Did she really want a new life?
The next morning Jamie and Inna were initially very impressed with the clinic. Jamie had seen many typically Russian clinics and this was certainly nothing like any of them. Clean, efficient looking, modern, from the downstairs reception area it looked a good place for Maria to stay. Inna called the doctor in charge, whom she had already spoken to in order to arrange everything. He was unavailable. She called him again, and again he was unavailable. They made their way into the lobby and spoke to the receptionist. She knew nothing of their visit and refused them passes. They waited in the lobby not knowing what to do or where to go, and finally, on the third attempt and almost a half an hour later than arranged, Inna managed to get hold of the doctor. He was stuck in traffic and would be a while longer but he told them to go to the Reception and ask for passes to the eight floor to see Dr. Vladimir Kolesov. Finally they were issued passes but they were not allowed to take their cameras inside the building. Inna and Jamie explained the project and the probably publicity that would come from it, and the people involved but that made no difference. This was definitely the Russian side of the Russian-American Family Medical Center. And it got worse.
Maria and Andrey arrived as Jamie and Inna disappeared upstairs to the eight floor to try and sort everything out, Maria and Andrey were left waiting downstairs in the lobby. There was no one to meet Jamie and Inna as they got off the elevator and they wondered around for a short while looking for someone to talk to. Eventually they found the Head Nurse who was not aware of their visit either; she had no idea who they were or what they were doing and anyway, she said, they had no spare rooms. The nurse asked whether they had paid in advance. They said they hadn’t paid anything but Inna had spoken to Doctor Kolesov and told him about Maria and the project, but he wasn’t there and the nurse wanted to talk about money. Inna asked the nurse how much money she wanted as a deposit and the nurse told her they required 2,500 dollars as an advance payment before anyone could stay even one night. Inna and Jamie were amazed. Inna asked for a discount, again explaining the project and the people involved. Absolutely no discounts, the nurse said. Inna then told the clinic that our benefactor would pay them direct but the nurse would only accept this if they received a fax confirming this from her herself, and Maria wouldn’t be able to stay until they received it. What on earth were they going to do? Jamie had an Össur credit card and asked if that would be accepted, and of course the clinic confirmed that it would be acceptable. Just as Jamie sat down to sign the debit form, Inna told him to wait; they should go back downstairs and talk to Maria first.
When they got back downstairs Maria was really fed up, terribly unhappy and just wanted to go home. She certainly didn’t want to stay at the clinic and have everyone stare at her, she didn’t want new legs, she just wanted to go back to her old life, a life she knew and understood and could control and be in charge of.
They fell silent as the doctor finally arrived and extended his deepest apologies. The traffic in Moscow was getting worse by the day, he panted as he glanced around at everyone looking sullen and confused.
“Come, let’s go upst
airs,” he said as he ushered everyone past the security guard and back into the elevator. They all went back up to eighth floor and into the conservatory garden.
Inna took the doctor to one side and quietly explained the situation and that they weren’t yet sure whether Maria would be staying.
“Don’t worry, just call me when you have made up your mind and I will make all the arrangements,” he said “we can sort everything out once you have decided what you are going to do.” He left.
The four of them sat together in the stillness of the garden. No matter how hard everyone tried to persuade Maria to the contrary, she absolutely believed that they could do nothing for her. According to Maria, the legs that Jamie was going to make would be just like her Russian legs; uncomfortable and horrible. For Jamie this was the first patient he had ever had that was so negative and whom he had to try persuade to have the legs. Usually it had been the other way round; his patients would beg Jamie for new legs. But Maria was an exception. She didn’t want legs and told Jamie, Andrey and Inna that if she was given these legs she would never wear them, she would just throw them into the corner and forget about them. She said was also sick and tired with people making money on her; they would benefit from any publicity yet she would still have to sit on the street corner with her hand out asking for money. Inna and Jamie denied that they were making money on Maria’s misfortune, but agreed that yes, they would be getting publicity but in return Maria would be getting some of the best legs in the world. But, according to Maria we were like all the others that had promised her something but never had any intention of giving. No matter how hard Inna, Jamie and Andrey tried they simply could not change her mind. For some strange and incomprehensible reason her mind had been set and it seemed there was little anyone could do to change it.
Jamie had just flown from the UK with thousands of pounds worth of components and now he just didn’t know what to do. While Maria sat depressed on her own, Jamie, Inna and Andrey went to have a private talk. It was apparent that Maria was not yet psychologically strong enough to have new legs; she simply couldn’t yet cope with the enormous change to her life and to how she will be accepted by others around her.
Andrey left Jamie and Inna chatting and sat next to Maria, talking to her not as a foreign do- gooder - as she now seemed to perceived Inna and Jamie as being - but as a doctor, a Russian doctor and someone that she could identify with. They spoke quietly for a while, in whispered voices. Eventually Maria looked up at Andrey and, grudgingly, agreed to ‘give it a go.’
But Jamie was still unconvinced. As a humanitarian he desperately wanted Maria to walk; he had got to know and like Maria, he liked her strength and character and resilience and her optimistic attitude to the cruel life she had been given. But as a representative for Össur he couldn’t waste the company’s money by giving very expensive legs to someone that didn’t want them and who might still end up throwing them unused into the corner, especially when there were so many others in the world that did desperately need them.
Jamie excused himself from the group and called me in England. As he explained the situation I sat silently listening to what had unfolded. I simply didn’t know what to say. Finally, after listening to everything I said; “Jamie, come home. If Maria doesn’t want legs we can’t give them to her. Come home.” After a long silence he agreed and passed me over to Inna. I could hear in Inna’s voice that she was really upset. She briefly told me the same things as Jamie had said, and I said to her the same thing as I had said to Jamie, come home. There was no point in staying, we have done what we can and we could do no more.
The line went silent and I suddenly felt very sad.
Jamie asked Inna to go and tell Maria that we could no longer help her. It had all abruptly ended. Maybe someday, he said, in the future, but not now. She quietly agreed and wondered over to the water container and poured herself a small cup full. She stood there thinking about what she was going to say and how she was going to say it. We had promised so much but had ended up giving so little. Inna felt very sad for Maria; she knew that inside, Maria was just a little girl lost in this big, harsh world. She knew that Maria just needed guiding, she needed help in understanding that her life wasn’t on the streets but with her son being a mother and a friend, but now she had to tell Maria that it was all over. Tears rolled down Inna’s eyes. She just couldn’t tell Maria, she couldn’t do it, not now, not after everyone had done so much and come so far. She couldn’t hurt Maria as so many others had done. She couldn’t take what little hope she had away from her. We were possibly her only chance of a better life, of a new life and now it was all going to end in a few simple words. Jamie saw Inna crying and wondered over, putting his arms around her, comforting her.
“I can’t tell her,” Inna cried, “I just can’t tell her.”
Andrey came over and sat awkwardly with them. Inna completely understood Jamie’s difficult position and the awkward circumstances but it was going to be so very difficult for her to tell Maria.
Andrey whispered “Let’s give it a go.”
After a short while sitting silently thinking, Jamie said; “I have an idea.”
Andrey and Inna looked up and Inna wiped the tears from her eyes. “Why don’t we do this step by step? Why don’t we refurbish her old legs, making them much more comfortable? In this way Maria will slowly get used to walking again and feel what it would really be like wearing comfortable sockets and Össur won’t end up wasting the expensive components. We will keep these components for her so that if and when she is finally ready I will come back and replace her old legs with the new ones.”
Inna jumped up and said “Oh, thank you, thank you,” and kissed Jamie on the cheek. Andrey smiled. It was the answer.
The three of them went to where Maria had been sitting quietly, waiting.
“OK” Jamie said, “We will do it your way, not in a week but step by step.” Maria looked up, surprised. “We will refurbish your old legs, giving you new sockets so you can feel what it will be like wearing comfortable legs. We will prove to you what we can do. I will take these components back with me to the UK but they will remain in my house and as soon as you are ready I will come back and replace your old legs with the new ones.”
Maria looked at Jamie, smiled, and said “OK, let’s go, what are we waiting for?”
Chapter Eleven
On Two Legs
They all squeezed into Andrey’s car, after making a very hasty retreat from the clinic where they had attracted a bit of attention. Nurses and doctors, as well as a few patients peered through the doors to the conservatory gardens. The name of our benefactor had quickly circulated around the staff and everyone wanted to know what was going on. Maybe many had expected that she was there herself. After making their excuses that they were not going to use the clinic after all, and thanked them for their help anyway - even though they didn’t actually do a thing - and Jamie, Andrey, Inna and Maria drove off.
Maria suddenly seemed completely different, chatting and giggling in the car as they made their way through the traffic to Andrey’s workshop in the town of Reutov, about 40 minutes drive from central Moscow. Andrey’s workshop, the Reutov Orthopaedic Centre, was one of the best Russian workshops Jamie had seen.
There were two choices for the disabled to acquire artificial limbs in Russia; they could either go to a State-run clinic or to a private clinic like Andrey’s. The State pays a small amount for prosthetics for the disabled and, if a patient chooses a private clinic, the Russian Government demands that he or she presents plenty of necessary and frequently unnecessary documents supporting that choice. However, once the bureaucracy was out of the way, Andrey could provide his patient with good limbs and eventually reclaim most of the money from the government. Andrey was in collaboration with Össur and used their products in the limbs he provided his patients, but Andrey’s company wasn’t a big company, he only ha
d about five or six full-time staff, all of whom were wonderful, kind, warmhearted, caring people and Inna immediately felt comfortable. She believed that it wasn’t just because of this project that they were being particularly helpful - she felt they were like it all of the time. It seemed that they made a lot less money than many of the other private prosthetic companies in Moscow but they were true humanitarians.
The workshop was situated close to the centre of the town. It looked like an old shop. Andrey had the downstairs area, while another company rented upstairs. They entered through the main doors, through a small showroom displaying prosthetic components and into the workshop and offices.
Jamie had already briefed Andrey as to what he would need and everything was ready. Andrey had invited a few colleagues to watch and understand how Jamie assembled the components and made the sockets and legs. Although the end result was more or less the same, it was extremely interesting for the Russian prosthetists to see how a Western prosthetist worked; they would swap notes and ideas and discuss procedures. Andrey asked whether he could film Jamie working. Maria didn’t mind. Maria was very happy; she was now the centre of attention and was enjoying every minute. Jamie talked and Inna was kept busy translating questions and answers as the Russians looked on and took notes. The Iceross silicone liners were fitted and casts taken of both of Maria’s residual limbs. This was quite difficult for Maria as she had to be supported on a plinth with the limb that needed to be cast hanging over the edge. Maria was not very comfortable, but she had changed completely from the Maria they saw that morning, she put up with the awkwardness and discomfort and remained giggly and cheerful, joking with everyone grouped around, watching. At the end of that very difficult and quite traumatic day, two good casts had been produced. The day had passed quickly and, after a few last questions, they wrapped everything up at about 6 in the evening. They were all tired, but the first important step had been made.
Maria's Story Page 19