Anna, flanked by Adi Roche and godmother Ali Hewson, shows off her new legs.
"My name is Anna. I am eighteen years old. I came to Ireland when I was 3 and a half. I arrived in Shannon Airport with Adi Roche on the cold winter morning of January 6, 1996 to a new family. I was very young so I can’t really remember what it was like back in Belarus. I came from the No 1 Orphanage Home in Minsk. Had I reached the age of four in Belarus, I would have been put into a mental asylum and I would have had very little hope of survival.
"When I came to Ireland, I had poor hearing along with two deformed legs and an extra finger on my thumbs due to the Chernobyl disaster. My new family accepted me with wide open arms. As a young child I used a wheelchair if I got tired from walking. My hearing is not very good in both ears as I have no ear canals at all, so I wear a bone conductor to help me hear.
"At 13, I was 3 ft 5 inches tall (due to my unusual legs) and still very small compared to all my friends. I thought I had no hope of being the same height as them. Then I was introduced to a orthopedic doctor named Andries De Bont. He changed my life. I now have two artificial legs from hips to my toes, and I am 5 ft 3 inches tall – or I can be any height I like with the flick of a screwdriver!
"Now I can see the colour of people’s eyes close up and can really notice how beautiful they look. I can smell people’s perfume for the first time. I can even make my own toast at counter-top height in the kitchen. I can see things over tall shelves and can talk to all my friends and family at eye level. I am just like any other 18 year old. I love hanging out with all my friends. I go out around town every now and again. I go to soccer, rugby and football matches with my friends. I also drive my very own car.
"I am doing my exams and I am hoping to get good results so that I can go on to college next year. My life has changed since I stepped foot in Ireland and I thank my family and most of all my mama and papa, Helen and Robert Gabriel, and all my sisters. I want to also say a big thank you to Adi Roche and all the staff at the office in
Chernobyl Children International.
"And last but not least, I want to say some words of thanks to the person who first took me in their arms that day in the orphanage when I was a small wee baby and is now my god-mother, Ali Hewson – the best Fairy Godmother in the world!"