The Inspired Intermedia digital book collection
Issue link: https://inspired.uberflip.com/i/1543795
Part Two: The Braverman Family 93 The older Iosif gets, the more he blames himself for what happened to Yeva. Nothing anyone says—there's no way to know that the situation would have been any different at the hospital in Volsk—can assuage his terrible guilt. His instinct was to keep Lyubov close, and he let her go. "Who knows?" he agrees, but it's no relief. Even decades later, Iosif cannot tell this story without tears. On January 25th, still in Moscow, Iosif and Lyubov celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Most of the guests present for the wedding attended the festivities. Yeva received many presents. On January 28th, Iosif and his family returned to Volsk. Back in Volsk, Iosif and Lyubov were overjoyed yet heartbroken. Although they could not be certain of Yeva's disability—"Time will tell," Iosif 's doctor iend said aer examining the baby—the couple knew that there would be extraordinary demands made of them for the rest of their lives. As the months passed, the ightened parents watched Yeva's development carefully. They waited in vain for Yeva to crawl or sit up. Iosif and Lyubov were determined to return to Moscow. A good income and family support now became more important than ever. Yeva would need the best doctors and institutes, and those were all in Moscow. Iosif reapplied to the academy and spent many hours studying for the entrance exam. The next year the family went to Moscow for a holiday, staying with Lyubov's sister Klara. Yeva's situation was not good and the family struggled to accommodate her disabilities in a society that had neither the resources nor the inclination to help disabled people become full citizens. They took Yeva to a number of specialists, none of whom could offer much encouragement. There were new medications, but they didn't do much good. Iosif and Lyubov repeated this trip in March of 1953, taking Yeva to more doctors. They were in Volsk when Iosif Stalin died on the 5th. Iosif knew everything would change. "Make yourself ready to go to Moscow," he told Lyubov. As he was building his career, Iosif continued to conont anti-Semitic discrimination. One Below: Lyubov and Yeva in Moscow, 1954. Bottom le: Yeva Volsun in Volsk, 1952. Bottom right: Iosif and Yeva in Volsk, 1953.