Visit to the врач

Last week, we were able to finally meet with Dr Kolesnyk and register Solomiya at his medical clinic. I (annie) had met him about 2 years ago on our last short-term trip to Ukraine through Anya and Richard. Anya had introduced me to him, told him I was an OT and that we were planning on moving to Ukraine to volunteer full-time. He was very excited to hear because he was making some decisions about building a new clinic and wanted to make space for therapy to be done. He had asked me then (he speaks English very well!) if I would be interested in training his therapy staff once we moved to Uzhhorod (therapy in Ukraine is very different from the therapy taught in North America, Australia, and western Europe).
 I do not think Dr Kolesnyk is your average Ukrainian doctor. He has a huge vision to bring advanced medical techniques and evidenced-based practice (treatments based on current research) to the people of Uzhhorod. He has traveled to western Europe and the USA to receive specialized training in a variety of areas. He also has a heart to start classes for young moms about how to care for babies and for rehabilitation with the elderly who have had strokes.
So, along with doing a 'healthy' check-up on Solomiya, Dr Kolesnyk talked about the plans for the new clinic. He received a grant for $30,000 to build it and plans are in the works!
I am really excited about working with him!
And now a completely unrelated photo containing some very special people:

Our friend, женя (white shirt and glasses) and his wife, оксана (standing), invited us to his birthday dinner! Sitting to the left of me is his mom- Mama Tanya- (as everyone calls her). She is a very special friend of ours! We lived with her during the last two short-term trips we made to Uzhhorod.