Natalia Filyushko

The queue for a doctor's appointment is moving slowly, but it is growing rapidly.

A thin brunette turns out to be at the door — without looking at anyone, she opens the door to the office.

— Where to? — a fat lady flies in front of her. — Don't you see, there's a queue here!

— Disabled people without a queue, — the woman calmly answers.

The lady looks puzzled.

— Can I show you a certificate? — the brunette takes a document out of her bag. Her opponent's face expresses obvious disbelief. Then the woman unbuttons her boot and knocks on the calf. A sharp sound is heard.

— Should I remove the prosthesis? "What is it?" she asks. Having received no answer, he disappears behind the door.

Indeed, the fragile Natalia Filyushko does not look like a disabled person at all. Confident gait, radiant smile and incredible love for life.

Her day is scheduled literally by the minute. There is so much to do: gym, swimming pool, vocal studio, classes with my daughter.

New Year's quest for children in the ICC. Natalia is a presenter at one of the stations.

But it wasn't always like that.

— The disease was given to me to completely change, — Natalia believes. — Before it, I lived in a fog: home, work — and that's it, no hobbies, no aspirations. After giving birth, she weighed 82 kg, now — 61. It was hard to walk, shortness of breath tormented. And it also seemed that life was so boundless, long. I often thought, "It would be nice to do this or that." But I didn't do anything to implement anything. Like, someday everything will definitely happen, while I’m just waiting. When I got sick, I realized that we have only one life and I need to live it to the fullest.

After giving birth, Natalia decided to get in shape. While working out at the gym, I twisted my leg. For a whole year, doctors diagnosed her with all kinds of diagnoses — from a sprain to a fracture. As a result, it turned out to be cancer.

— My leg hurt terribly, I couldn't step on it. I visited a lot of doctors trying to find out what was wrong with me. There were both paid and free specialists. At first, they treated sprains. Then they said it was a fracture. I spent two months in a cast. The doctor took it off. I explained that my leg still hurts. He in response: "Even the bones of 80-year-olds grandmothers knit after two months. You can walk!" And it hurt more than it used to. As a result, I did a tomography in a paid clinic. The CT scan showed that I have talus necrosis. With a huge amount of results — MRI, CT scan, X—ray, ultrasound - I went to Moscow. The doctors there suggested that I had osteoporosis. A cast was applied. They began the treamentt. Two months later, the leg swelled up. She began to burst out of plaster, like dough from a saucepan. I returned to the Moscow clinic. I had an MRI, ultrasound, X-ray again. The professor studied everything for a long time, and then said: "Well, well, you're not our client. You have cancer." Mom bursted in tears, looking at her, so did I.

— When you are not personally confronted with cancer, you try to drive away any information about oncology from yourself, you close yourself: " I'm fine!" Every person is sure that this will not happen to him. Before my illness, I didn't notice much: I have not seen people on crutches, with a cane, in wheelchairs on the street. Now in the crowd among the Kaluzhans, a person with a prosthesis sometimes catches an eye…

The diagnosis was a complete surprise for me, as if a brick had fallen on my head. I didn't know where to go. I came across the Obninsk Cancer Center on the Internet. I read good reviews. I went there with a pile of my scan results. I was so well received! The doctor worked with me for two hours. They immediately said that this would not be an organ-preserving operation. I completely trusted the doctors. Of course, I didn't immediately accept what would happen. Of course, I felt sorry for myself. But if the doctors said that it was necessary to amputate the leg, then it is necessary.

After surgery and rehabilitation, I was given a prosthesis. At the Obnisk prosthesis I met a wonderful prosthetist – Sarkisyan Armen, I still have prosthetics with him, by the way. Now I have two prostheses — one for bathing and one with a cosmetic shell. For bathing — iron, without a cosmetic shell, an iron pipe connecting the foot and the stump sleeve is visible. I wear it in the summer. I'm not shy — yes, you can see it, yes, it draws attention to me. The cosmetic prosthesis is less noticeable — it repeats the shape of the leg, but it is with a stocking. I won't torture myself and wear nylon tights in the heat! I remember walking into the store in shorts once. The child stands and stares at me intently, then brings another baby and says: "Look, this woman is a robot!"

- I have never driven a car. Madly afraid. Although in a dream I saw that I was driving a KAMAZ. After the operation, I realized that I couldn't do without a car. I didn't find a driving school right away. Many of them teach only mechanics, but I need a car with an automatic transmission. It was exciting and great to study. Traveled all over the city.

Then I had the idea to fix — riding a scooter. I had doubts: suddenly nothing would work out. I tried it. It turned out so great! In the mornings, she went around the Provincial Park, alternately changing her legs.

Natalia goes to the pool, plays tennis, and does powerlifting. She managed to be among the three strongest athletes in Kaluga, its region, in Russia and even in the European Championship in Russian bench press. And all this on a prosthesis! And last year Natalia performed at the World Paramusical Festival at the concert hall "Russia" in Luzhniki. — She sang accompanied by a symphony orchestra. It's unforgettable! — she says.

— In fact, cancer is not a sentence. You need to understand, not why, but for what this disease is given to you. Everything in this life happens for a reason.