Liliya is 50 years old, she is the happy mother of 3 children. 30 years ago, Liliya gave birth to her first daughter, but unfortunately, the daughter had an extremely complicated situation: almost all joints were dislocated and turned out. The first three years the child spent in plaster, and Liliya carried and rehabilitated her so desperately that she even refused to register a disability. She firmly believed that the child would walk despite the forecasts of all specialists. So it happened. Little Ulya gradually learned everything, and now she works in the intellectual sphere and is completely independent.
Liliya realized that having an education and experience as a nurse in the 90s would not allow her to get her children on their feet, both literally and figuratively. She became an entrepreneur and started her own stall at the local market in western Ukraine. Time went by, Liliya formed a customer base, and then she became pregnant.
She could not continue the stall because her son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. From a year old, the little one could harm himself and others, so he needed mom's care 24/7. Liliya, in addition to her son's severe illness, also got depression, as doctors and society could not accept this disease and just blamed it on "bad upbringing".
Over time, Liliya became closed and unsocial, and the war worsened the financial situation. Before the war, the father supported the family and took any possible part-time job. With the war, there were significantly fewer offers.
"For me, my employers are heroic people. I was so afraid that I wouldn’t cope, but they were able to choose such words so that I could quickly and without stress master everything. Now I can control my day. I have time for my work and communication with colleagues. It is very important to me. I wanted to be social again because everyone understands me in this circle, and we share our problems and solutions. Every mother of a disabled child has this first period when you don’t know where to run and what to do. And here we are, with experience and understanding. The work chat for me is also a psychological self-help group; we support and help each other."
Now Liliya's son is getting ready for school, for this it is necessary to visit a psychologist and plan a tutor or assistant. It costs from 10,000 UAH per month. Liliya is glad that the job covers these expenses for her, that she does everything for her son while feeling at her place.
In Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of mothers experience similar states and a dead end until they get the opportunity to be socialized, realized, and happy among their own.