Grandmother Anna:
I had two children. I buried my son 9 years ago. Now I only have a daughter. I have three grandchildren. The older grandson lives with me, because my daughter gave birth to him and left to finish university. So he has lived with me since birth. I raised him, took care of him, and he calls me Mother.
The daughter got married, gave birth to two more children. She buried her husband. She now lives separately with two children, the younger ones.
This place is better for him. After all, this is his home. He often comes to visit his mother. He comes to his brother and sister to hang around and to take a walk. He often said, "Let's go check on Khalid, Malika, and Mother. Can we?" But he doesn't want to go there any more.
Grandson Kostia:
My grandmother has been raising me since birth. I call her Mum. The most precious person is my grandmother, because she has been raising me since birth. I can't explain it, I just love her.
Grandmother:
He is a very kind boy, sociable. He would like to have a lot of friends, but he can't. He developed very well. He was a very smart boy, but his communication skills were very poor.
I tried to send Kostia to kindergarten three times. It didn't work out. He didn't get on well with other kids. Teachers didn't like him either. It was not taken well in kindergarten. They just advised me to take him to a psychiatrist.
I took him to a psychiatrist here in our city. Then we were referred to Donetsk. He was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. This means that a child develops ahead of peers but is totally socially disconnected from them. Why? Because he's a little different from everyone else. He wants to be friends with them, but they don't, because he is, as they call him, boring, abstruse. Therefore, he can find common ground with older people.
Grandson:
I don't have any friends at school whom I could call real friends. I can't call them friend just because we sometimes have a picnic together, buy some food at the store, or play some games on the phone. So I can them friends. However, if I need any help, will they be there for me.
I am fascinated by geometric figures and rational numbers. I would like to travel around the world. I watch a lot of programs about survival in remote parts of the world. I would also like to do something like this, see the world, take pictures.
Grandmother:
He has a cardiac failure, patent foramen ovale. It doesn't close. It should have closed within a year.
It is quite small, so surgery wasn't necessary. His condition got worse. He has knee arthritis which was very painful. The doctor said that it cannot be treated. They said that there is a chance that he may have to use a wheelchair when grows up.
Grandson:
I have Baker's cysts behind both knees. They are some kind of tumours. That is, they are some tree-like formations that grow and press on the kneecap. My knees ache very much. There are times when it hurts so much that I cry even though I'm a man. It's like my legs are being pulled and twisted at the same time. I still have problems with my elbows and shoulders. They also hurt. I need some treatment, because I want to walk.
Grandmother:
The war started. We had gas the first winter it all started. But then they cut it off. So we had no gas for two years. And now that it has been restored, we can't afford it. It is too expensive. It is great that we have a stove left by the previous owners. We buy coal, firewood, and heat the stove.
The foundation and walls were badly damaged, and the corners were damaged by blast waves. That's why, it's very cold in the house right now.
Early 2014 was probably the most difficult period. It was a nightmare! Sometimes we would go with him i from school or from the daughter's n the evening when rockets would fly over our heads. The sky was red.
I never thought that this rocket might fall and we might die. We saw all this horror. But I never realised that I would die, my child would die. A woman was killed two doors down. A shell fell and killed the woman, that's it.
We sat in the cellar for the first time. Then we decided that something would fall, the cellar could fall down as well. So we decided not to hide. We just got tired of that. I sleep on the floor, because I'm afraid to sleep in bed.
He is very nervous, very withdrawn when he hears the bombing sounds. We even have a habit of saying, "What's there? Good morning, country!" This means that we had been greeted. "Good evening, country!" That meant we could go to bed. We're probably used to it.
Grandson:
We don't have enough money sometimes, because we have to spend a lot of money on treatment. Food and clothes are not even taken into account. I bought an easel for the money we have been saving for a while.
Grandmother:
I only see my future with my grandson. And I see him as a professional in any profession he chooses. He will have a family, children, and I will help take care of them.
