Russian kids free from cerebral palsy

Saint

10: Clad in a green jumpsuit and helmet, Maryan Dolik walks with hesitation as he enters the glass compartment of an indoor skydiving simulator.

Within seconds he is swept up by a powerful gust of air, forgetting the physical limitations caused by his cerebral palsy.

Although the 13-year-old finds it difficult to walk down a set of stairs, inside the vertical wind tunnel he has learnt to fly and has already reaped the benefits this unusual therapy.

“I’ve started walking better, become stronger and have better endurance,” the slim blond boy says with a smile.

“I want to achieve a lot, to start doing everything on my own without anyone’s help,” Dolik says, adding that in the future he wants to become an indoor skydiving instructor.

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Dolik was selected to participate in Russia’s “Fly with Me” project that helps children with cerebral palsy improve their physical capabilities.

Under the guidance of his coach, Dolik trains once a week at a centre in Russia’s second city Saint Petersburg. His mother Irina Dolik says that after three months of lessons his “range of movement is increasing.” “He feels more coordinated,” she says.

While the use of flying simulators for therapy is already widespread in Europe and the United States, in Russia — a country that lags behind others in its support for the disabled community the practice is momentum.

Physician Valida Isanova believes that the traditional methods used in Russia to treat children with cerebral palsy, such as massages, are becoming outdated.

She says that the simulator flights help work joints and muscles that are not used in everyday life, though she adds that the method still needs to be studied to give the project “scientific basis”.

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● WHILE THE use of flying simulators for therapy is already widespread in Europe and the United States, in Russia the practice is still gaining momentum.