Oksana Masters’ early years were spent in the Ukraine in 1989, and she has many childhood memories from the time.
Not every one of them is enjoyable. She was neglected and left behind. Everything began in 1986 with the catastrophic Chernobyl accident.
Oksana, who was just 36 inches tall and 35 pounds in weight at the time, resided roughly 200 miles away from Chernobyl.
Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right at birth, and she was born with one kidney, a half stomach, six toes on each foot, and webbed fingers on each thumbless.
Her biological family gave her up for adoption, and she resided in three orphanages before Gay Masters, a single American lady, adopted her when she was seven years old.
Masters brought her to the US following a challenging two-year process, according to The Guardian. She competes in multiple paralympic sports now.
In the Courier Journal, her mother Gay Master discussed her first encounter with Oksana. ‘I had intended to adopt an infant because I know
through my line of work how important the first year is for development,’ stated Gay, ‘but then I was given a black and white photograph of this little girl,
there was a sparkle in her eyes and I knew, even though this child was not who I had set out to find, this was my daughter.’
A speech pathologist at the University of Louisville told Gay back then not to adopt the girl,
especially since she had so many physical difficulties. However, Gay ignored everyone and followed her own path.
Gay claimed that after learning of this, the orphanage had given young Oksana a photo of her mother and promised to come fetch her.
Gay spent a full year completing the adoption paperwork while Oksana anxiously awaited her arrival and planned her departure.
‘If I did something wrong, the orphanage would tell me the American woman didn’t want a bad child and she wasn’t coming,’ Oksana recounted.
When Gay returned, Oksana’s little eyes twitched with recognition. ‘I recognize you; you are my mother,’ she said,
removing a photo of Gay that was securely stored on the nightstand. When Oksana talks about her early years growing up gay in America,
she smiles at their differences.’Oh yeah, my mom and I were very different; she loves books and I loved to climb trees.’
Since Oksana moved quickly, it was not too difficult for her to become used to walking and running on her prosthetic limbs.
She underwent numerous reconstructive procedures in America to improve her ability to utilize both hands.
‘I had figured out by that point that sports were a kind of therapy for her and I signed her up for horseback riding lesson,’ Gay recalled.
‘I told her it was a state law in Kentucky that everyone learned how to ride a horse.’ Saying, ‘I didn’t like the idea of
a sport that was geared towards people with disabilities,’ Oksana described sports as her therapy and her way out of the world. ‘I wanted to feel like everyone else’
In addition, Oksana talked about the ongoing sexual, psychological, and physical abuse she experienced
in Ukraine in a film titled ‘Survivor’ that was posted on the Players’ Tribune website. ‘I simply believed that I would be able to assist other girls,
other children living in orphanages, who had experienced trauma and were unable to find healing. And sports provided me a means to heal,
let everything out, find myself, and rediscover myself in a positive way. That is the power of sport. and alter my story’s plot,’ she declares.
‘It is beyond words how much it would mean to me if my story could in some way shed light on a particular orphanage or system and change those kids’ lives forever.’