People become patients at ODC for a host of reasons and arrive with varied needs. New patients Inga Maevskaya and Iurii (Yuri) Alekhin hail from Russia.
Middlebury, Vermont
They met at work, singing in an opera! Later, Iurii started his strong show – bending bars, tying nails in knots, driving nails into wood and through frying pans with his bare hand, breaking chains and biting horseshoes. “That’s why I need to see a dentist now,” he jokes.
They came to the U.S. after a Cirque de Soleil recruiter saw Iurii’s triple-threat talents as an opera singer, strong man, and jazz and blues guitarist on Instagram (@juryalekhin) and hired him on a P1 performer visa. Inga and daughters Polina, 13, and Uliana, 9 followed with P4 dependent visas. The family was accustomed to traveling for Iurii’s opera career, at top Russian theatres – Rostov State, the Stanislavskogo and Nemirovicha Danchenko, and Mariinsky. They were taking a break between circus tour dates, camping in Missouri’s Mark Twain Forest, when they got dire news: the show’s run had been suddenly cut short. They were left stranded, without work visas.
Inga takes up the story:
There we were, stuck in the woods, upset, trying to figure things out, hoping for the best. There was even a tornado warning and a flood watch! Fortunately, we had made friends at the circus. A fellow performer from the tour called and said, “Come to Vermont!” We said, “Where?” It was magic. We only knew Vermont by reputation, for maple syrup and beautiful October forests on calendars! His parents offered that we could come to their house, where they had a spare apartment. It’s not always easy to make such decisions, but we didn’t have much choice, and somehow, we didn’t have any hesitation. It turned out Carol and Tom Spencer are the best people I’ve ever met.”
We then found ODC through friends. The first friend mentioned a wonderful place in Middlebury that would help. At first, I didn’t believe it. It seemed hardly possible! In the place I come from, it’s very hard to get help without paying for it.
We first reached out in March or April. Iurii needed a checkup, specifically to have blood work done to see if his cancer was still in remission. The lab work was free through ODC with a voucher provided by Porter Hospital. I was next, with my own checkup. When I was diagnosed a year and a half after Iurii, some people thought it was an evil prank, that I also had cancer.” Then, to qualify for new visas, we had to prove we were up-to-date on our vaccines and pass a medical exam from a “civil surgeon.” There were no approved doctors in Vermont, but one near Albany had an appointment in 9 days, the only exam that fit our visa timeline.
I remember the day when I called–I think I spoke to Julia. I was on the edge of being hysterical. We had 8 or 9 days to receive all the vaccinations we needed. I was maybe crying, and very stressed out. Julia was very reassuring. She said, “Come right over!” I needed 7 vaccines, Yuri needed 7 or 8, and so did Polina; Uliana even more. Since ODC only serves adults, Julia coordinated with the Middlebury Office of the Vermont Department of Health for the girls’ vaccines. She even came with us!
Astonishingly, we were able to do everything on time. We came to Vermont with no documents–we just got Social Security numbers a few weeks ago. Now, because we applied for a CB1 visa for highly skilled workers, we received our work permits in just 4 weeks, and amazingly, we’ve been approved for a permanent visa status. We just got the letter.”
Now, Inga and Iurii want to give back to the clinic. Inga has offered to interpret for Russian and Ukrainian speakers, and Iurii wants to perform a strong show to benefit the ODC! ODC’s ability to fill a multi-dimensional urgent need has helped put Inga and Iurii’s family back on a strong footing.
*The patient’s name has been changed to respect privacy, protect identity, and assure confidentiality