Yaroslav Svorak has lived in Ivano-Frankivsk all his life. This is where he experienced his ups and downs, losses and victories. Since childhood, he has been proving to himself and those around him that with hard work, the support of loved ones, and a strong will, you can achieve a lot.
The man does not remember when he first fell ill. His parents said that he was born completely healthy, but at one point, he developed an inflammation, which led to cerebral palsy. He did not walk until he was three years old, but his mother did not give up and decided to get her child on his feet. She took him to massages, medical procedures, and rehabilitation. Gradually, Yaroslav took his first steps and was even able to run before he started school.
Sports despite the prohibitions
The doctors did not support the parents’ plan for their son to pursue sports and immediately prohibited physical activity. The family decided to act intuitively and enrolled their child in track and field classes. He was taken under the wing of a professional coach, to whom Yaroslav is still very grateful. Under his guidance, the boy was able to compete in city and regional championships. He participated in long-distance races – 3 and 5 kilometers. There were plans for the Ukrainian championship, but he was not allowed to participate.
In addition to running, he also attended classes in freestyle wrestling and swimming, and did pull-ups. His greatest sporting passion was football.
“I was forbidden to play and run, but I wanted to be a footballer. After school, I spent almost every day on the pitch. When I was 10 years old, I went to the sports clinic for an examination, and they told me that professional football was out of the question for me. So I started playing as an amateur,” recalls Yaroslav.
He mainly joined in matches organized by young people themselves in the 80s and 90s. They played house against house, street against street, district against district. Sometimes they just gathered on the field and kicked the ball around.
When they grew up, the young people scattered in different directions and the amateur matches stopped. Yaroslav says that he last played around 2003. Now he is a fan, and a pretty passionate one at that. In the golden days of Dynamo, he supported them. Now he watches more matches of Milan and Barcelona. When the Ukrainian national team plays, he still roots for his own.
“I love football for the combinations, the wonderful passing of the ball: accurate or from a distance, when I score a goal myself. It’s such a great feeling,” he says.
Almost everyone in his family was interested in football. When a match started on TV, Yaroslav, his dad and his mom would sit down to watch. What surprised him most was that his mother was also a fan.
For him, sport is still part of everyday life, although not as actively as before. At home, he works out with dumbbells. He also proudly shares that he can do ten pull-ups on the horizontal bar and hold a plank for eight minutes.
About work, relationships, and heavy rock
After graduating from school, Yaroslav decided to study to become a builder, but dropped out and went to work in construction. Then he worked at the market and in factories.
After graduating from school, Yaroslav decided to study to become a builder, but dropped out and went to work in construction. Then he worked at the market and in factories.
After graduating from school, Yaroslav decided to study to become a builder, but dropped out and went to work in construction. Then he worked at the market and in factories.
“Wherever I went to work, I encountered difficulties due to people’s prejudices. They don’t say anything to me personally, but I can see that as an employee I have to prove my worth to them. This is evident when they give me less difficult tasks than others. Now they treat me with respect because I perform my duties responsibly and work diligently.”
Yaroslav has a certain consistency at work. He strives for this in relationships as well. He says that he tried to start a family, but it didn’t work out and they broke up. However, he has many friends. His childhood friend Halyna lives nearby. They are also friends with her husband.
Once, when he was young, he met another guy at a health resort in Kosovo who also lives with cerebral palsy and, as it turned out, is from Ivano-Frankivsk. They have been friends ever since and go out for coffee together.
Yaroslav’s life is calm and measured. The only thing he wants is for not only his loved ones but also other people to treat him like a normal person.
“I pay a lot of attention when passersby look at me. These are not accidental glances. I often catch them, and sometimes they are openly annoying. Especially if they are young people.”
When Yaroslav was still a boy, he had a fairly active social life: lots of sports, discos, friends, and a love of heavy metal. He remembers listening to AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Metallica, and Scorpions back then.
Now he prefers Ukrainian folk music, although he still sometimes plays cult songs by his once-favorite bands. He also avoids noisy gatherings. He has begun to appreciate time alone more
Loss, addiction, and inner strength to carry on
In the late 1990s, Yaroslav suffered two painful losses that devastated him. First, he lost his mother, his greatest source of support and inspiration. A year later, his father also passed away. The grief was so great that he tried to numb the pain with alcohol. Glass after glass, every day for the next few years. The man now understands that he was in an extremely difficult state at the time. Neighbors, acquaintances, and relatives did not know what to do. The Yaroslav they knew was gone.
His childhood friend, her mother, and two nephews supported him at that time. They were there for him during an extremely difficult period.
“I am very proud that I found the willpower to first stop drinking alcohol and then, over time, to quit smoking. That is my pride,” the man emphasizes.
One of the triggers for permanently eliminating smoking and alcohol from his life was another challenge. The man was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo throat surgery. Immediately after leaving the hospital, he quit smoking.
Yaroslav was able to overcome his worst addictions, but he smiles as he talks about his current one. He says he likes to dress stylishly. It is his little whim and need. Even though he gets up early for work, he is not too lazy to shave so that he always looks good.
This material was created with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), CBM, and the European Disability Forum. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors and cannot be considered the official opinion of the financial partner and the European Disability Forum.
Journalist: Ira Blajenko