Please, allow me first to send you my best greetings, in particular, since you have found my story in Deaf Friends International.

My name is Elena Vladimirovna Zykina. I am deaf, and I am 26 years old. I live in Russia. I was born on August 15, 1977. I am suffering from congenital deafness.

My parents and the older brother have normal hearing. I was married in 2000, and my son was born on October 8, 2002. He also has normal hearing. My husband has hearing problems, before he was three years old, he was suffering from migraine which resulted in these hearing problems.

Some words about my life.

During 7 years, since 1984, I have attended the elementary school for deaf children. After that I was unemployed for three years. Now I am a housewife. From time to time, I visit the office of Christian Deaf, because I love to communicate with friends, and I enjoy their company.

Translated into English by Marc Taraban