Many people know a girl named Vasilina thanks to the photos and videos published by her adoptive mother, Elmira. Elmira and her husband, Chris Knutsen, took the baby from an orphanage when she was just 12 months old. The girl’s birth mother abandoned her immediately after her birth.
Vasilina had a rare pathology—the absence of hands—which significantly reduced her chances of finding a family. However, after six months, she learned to play and use cutlery independently, performing all the actions with her feet.
When the girl joined the Knutsen family, the couple already had two children—two boys. The eldest was their biological son, and the middle one, named Denis, was also adopted. Denis had been taken from the orphanage when their eldest son was one year old. Initially, the plan was to find a suitable family for Denis, but over time it became clear that the Knutsen family was the best fit for him.
In fact, adopting a child from an orphanage had been part of the couple’s plans from the very beginning. They made this decision immediately after leaving the registry office, barely completing their wedding. Denis’s story was similar to Vasilina’s. Denis had health problems that were even more severe than hers. He was missing both legs and arms, could barely speak at the age of seven, and his level of intelligence corresponded to that of a 3-4-year-old child.
Guardianship officials insisted that Denis’s adoptive parents send him to school. But school seemed impossible at the time, as Elmira first had to teach him to go to the toilet on his own. He could not take care of himself, and thoughts of school seemed far away. However, the family overcame all these difficulties, and when Denis eventually learned to handle prosthetics skillfully, physical education became his favorite school subject.
One day, Vasilina asked Elmira a question that deeply touched her heart. The girl expressed her fear of ending up in an orphanage again.
“Can a one-year-old child remember what happened at such an early age?” Elmira Knutsen said in surprise.
This woman, with a big heart, who gave warmth and care to adopted children abandoned by their biological parents, is convinced that life is given to us to do good. And if there is even the slightest opportunity to help those in need, we must seize it.
In videos posted on social networks, Vasilina is always smiling. She has everything a child could wish for: a loving mom and dad, as well as brothers who believe in her and always provide support.
