Paralympian needs hearing aid

Before us is a 32-year-old from Kiev, Oleksii Vysotskyi – a strong and strong-willed young man. Pleasant companion. He talks about sport in an interesting and detailed way. And it is not surprising, because he lives it. It is difficult to imagine that this person may have health problems. However, this is a fact – since childhood till today, this Paralympic without a special apparatus hears absolutely nothing. 

Oleksii was born a normal healthy child. But at the age of one year, the boy had flu that gave a complication – deafness. His father left the family. And all the cares for the upbringing of the son fell on the shoulders of the mother, which made incredible efforts, daily engaged with her son. Without knowing sign language, the mother achieved amazing results: the boy spoke, went to the first class in a regular school and sat at the third school desk! Alyosha’s classmates reacted with understanding and did not tease the boy. He even tried to do dancing but did not work, because it was necessary to hear the music and rhythm. But somehow, by chance, her mother learned that in the swimming pool there is a group of deaf children with whom a special hearing impaired coach is engaged...

From the age of 9 years, sport in the life of Oleksii Vysotskyi has become an integral part of life. Today he is a swimming coach, Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine. Oleksii has 18 medals on his account! Of these, 7 Olympic medals, 5 European and 6 world champions. Yes, and could not be otherwise. Oleksii is a hereditary athlete. His parents once did swimming, his mother's sister was seriously engaged in gymnastics. Oleksii remembers his trip to the first Olympiad to the smallest detail. It was Australia. The boy was very impressed with this country. In addition to the climate, Alyosha was struck by the high level of service. "I felt like in paradise", the athlete tells about that trip. "It was difficult to adapt to local time. We slept during the day, trained at night. Almost all month was training". And then there was Melbourne, where the Olympic Games took place. A pool full stands of spectators – all this struck the boy. "If you set a goal, you go to it, gather strength, despite the jitters and fear. But the feeling when you are on the pedestal is difficult to convey in words!" Oleksii shares with us his impressions about the first Olympiad in his life.

And only a few people – Oleksii himself, his mother and the trainer – know what effort is worth to win. 11 times per week workout for three hours: 1 hour on land and 1.5 hours in the swimming pool, the constant observance of the daily regimen and food. Now Oleksii teaches swimming for children, adults and the older generation. Of course, the absence of normal hearing significantly interferes with the life and work of a coach. His hearing aid is hopelessly outdated and cannot cope with its function. The cost of the necessary apparatus is 25 000 UAH. Buy it an athlete has no financial ability.
We ask you to respond positively to Alexei’s request and help him acquire a hearing aid.

Name: Vysotskyi Oleksii, 17.03.1987

City: Kyiv

Diagnosis: chronic sensorineural right-sided hearing impairment IV degree of gravity, deafness to the left