Perspective

I just finished reading the book, "The Boy From Baby House 10...From the Nightmare of a Russian Orphanage to a new life in America." Doesn't the title tell it all?

I was browsing the new books section at the library, and the title caught my eye. I knew that it would be heart wrenching and very difficult to read the tragedies of the children, but I also felt drawn to it.

I skipped through most of the sections that contained severe child abuse and torture, to hopefully get to the parts where this remarkable boy overcame so many obstacles and eventually survived. Any sweet child that is born with any type of disability (physical), is automatically labeled as an imbecile and thrown into an orphanage where they are ridden to a BED for their entire life. I just can't wrap my head around such abuse...and of course there are many more details that I don't want to go into.

The review of the book is: In 1990, a young boy afflicted with cerebral palsy was born, prematurely, in Russia. His name was Vanya. His mother abandoned him to the state childcare system and he was sent to a bleak orphanage called Baby House 10. Once there, he entered a nightmare world he was not to leave for more than eight years. Housed in a ward with a group of other children, he was clothed in rags, ignored by most of the staff and given little, if any, medical treatment. He was finally, and cruelly, confined for a time to a mental asylum where he lived, almost caged, lying in a pool of his own waste on a locked ward surrounded by psychotic adults. But, that didn’t stop Vanya.

Even in these harsh conditions, he grew into a smart and persistent young boy who reached out to everyone around him. Two of those he reached out to—Sarah Philps, the wife of a British journalist, and Vika, a young Russian woman—realized that Vanya was no ordinary child and they began a campaign to find him a home. After many twists and turns, Vanya came to the attention of a single woman living in the United States named Paula Lahutsky. After a lot of red tape and more than one miracle, Paula adopted Vanya and brought him to the U.S. where he is now known as John Lahutsky, an honors student at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and a member of the Boy Scouts of America Order of the Arrow.

This boy was entertained for hours by one broken toy, would have a vivid imagination of being able to walk outside (he didn't go outside for 6 years and only knew how to crawl), taught the fellow children how to talk, and found such happiness in being creative with his eyes. I can't imagine any of my children trying to even sit still for 2 hours, let alone all day long being constrained to a crib and never being aloud to play.

As I look at the students that I teach, and obviously my own children, I have a different perspective. I have been concerned with some students that aren't reading at benchmark levels, who have discipline problems, and who may be socially isolated, but really...none of that matters when it comes down to it. Any child here in the USA has such a huge chance of survival thanks to our government and CPS.

What inner strength and courage this sweet boy had to overcome his obstacles. My heart was touched to see his sweet smile and how he naturally touched everyone's lives that he met.

I am so grateful that he shared with me his story.