Vasili's Story

Images capture be Jennifer Kapala Photography

Meet Tiny Light Vasili.  This 18-month-old brings immense joy to those around him. He is very cuddly and communicates well, even though he cannot yet speak. Vasili enjoys car rides, playing in his swing, and rides in his stroller, but his absolute favourite place to be is in the bathtub! 


During the pregnancy, doctors told Vasili’s parents that their son was going to have a VSD (ventricular septal defect). However, to his parents’ surprise, he was born without any cardiac issues at all. They also knew that there would be a chance of a Down Syndrome diagnosis, and this was confirmed shortly after his birth. Vasili spent several weeks in the NICU and countless hours at doctor appointments before being allowed to go home. After only seven days, he returned to the hospital with a bad urinary tract infection, and once again had to be hospitalized for a week. In addition to his Down Syndrome diagnosis, Vasili also has sleep apnea (a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep), hypotonia (low muscle tone), and infantile spasms (a seizure disorder seen in babies). Since October, he has returned to the hospital twice with pneumonia, but is otherwise stable.


It is hard to know what struggles Vasili will face in the future, but his family remains hopeful. Despite all that he has been through, this sweet boy is always happy and rarely cries. He brings so much joy to his family. In his mother’s words: “Vasili is my everything and my family’s everything. He makes me smile every second of every day.”


Story by Emily Harrison