My daughter lost her military father and went into herself: she was saved by a miracle

Five years ago I lost my husband. Devin Donnelly, who was a colonel, chief medical officer and gynecologist in the US Air Force, left this world because he could no longer cope with the growing depression - service in Afghanistan changed his life... This was a blow for me, and my daughter Zhenya Denisenko and completely shocked. Zhenya and I moved to America from sunny Krasnodar 8 years ago, our daughter was almost 7 years old then. But we met Devin much earlier, when Zhenya was 4, and she fell in love with him, perhaps even before me. He was for her the standard of masculinity and reliability, she was proud that she had such a father, dreamed of following in his footsteps and studying medicine.

Zhenya with Devin. Photo from personal archive

Therefore, when he was gone, the heart of 10-year-old Zhenya became numb, she could not come to terms with the fact that she would never see her dad again. She thought she had done something wrong and that it was her fault for what happened. She stopped laughing, became taciturn, locked herself in her own world ... She stopped communicating with her school friends and looking for new acquaintances. The consultations of the specialists did not help; she rejected all their attempts to establish contact. She did not want to do anything, and even if she took up something, she quickly quit. Nothing seemed to work ...

This went on for almost three years, but one day chance gave us an acquaintance with a man, also an immigrant, who brought my daughter back to life. We were walking to our car in the parking lot when I noticed Fred Astaire Dance Studio. We stopped to look through the window at the dancing people (I really love dancing), when suddenly we heard a friendly voice behind us - we were invited to enter. Dance instructor Dmitry Golovnya greeted us with a wide, pleasant smile and offered to try dancing. Today! Now! It was very exciting for me because I always wanted to dance. And my daughter was a dark shadow who hated dancing...

Dmitry's calm tone, friendly smile and professional approach nevertheless echoed in his daughter's heart, he convinced Zhenya to try. I was very surprised when she agreed. But further reasons for surprise became more and more. I just could not believe my eyes when after 15 minutes of the lesson I saw my daughter smiling cheerfully. After a while, she came up and said that she wanted to return to this studio again.

Zhenya receives his first dance prize. Photo from personal archive

Shortly thereafter, in September 2019, we were invited to attend a sports ballroom dancing competition in Raleigh, North Carolina. My daughter and I were very impressed with Dmitry's professionalism in dancing and acting. The mesmerizing performances of Dmitry and other students of the school at this event greatly impressed Zhenya and inspired her to practice ballroom dancing.

Her transformation was unfathomable! Dmitry, an incredibly talented and professional teacher and coach, gave my girl back her zest for life. Having extensive experience working with children, he knew exactly how to counter my daughter's angry temper and keep her interested in dancing. He admitted to me that during the first lesson, my daughter didn’t even want to talk to him. Sometimes she showed apathy and even aggression, but he did not give up and continued to support her with his faith and talent.

In just a year of dancing, Zhenya became noticeably stronger physically, problems with posture disappeared, and her morale also became much better. She had been diagnosed with scoliosis in the past and suffered from frequent back pain. Now she has completely forgotten about these problems, thanks to special stretching and strengthening exercises that Dmitry conducted with Zhenya during dance lessons. But the main thing is that her emotional difficulties are gone, I see that my daughter is happy again!

Zhenya and Dmitry Golovnya. Photo from personal archive

Zhenya says that dancing has now come out on top for her. She is ready to give up any other habits and activities, but not the opportunity to soar on the parquet, performing her favorite slow and Viennese waltzes. She lives dancing and looks forward to every lesson and event that takes place in the studio.

And I am forever grateful to Dmitry Golovna for everything I have done for our little family! He saved my daughter, and will forever remain a hero for us and other families of military personnel who know how hard it is to survive the loss of a loved one.

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