See that you do not look down on one of these little ones.
For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
Matthew 18:10 NIV
Dina -
In Loving
Memory
A Pictorial Celebration of Her
Life
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Constantina "Dina" Voutiritsas
November 11, 1982 - November 18,
1993
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DINA
11/11/82
- 11/18/93
You
could not walk too well,
So
you watched.
You
could not talk or write,
So
you listened.
And
there were so many things that
You
just couldn't do.
Yet
me, I can do all of these things;
Still
you greeted the day with joy,
And
a smile and amusement for
whatever
it would bring,
And
I'm somehow left feeling
That
at 11 years old,
You
had walked a little farther
Than
me.
--By
Patrick Wilson
Patrick's
wife was a paraprofessional at Avondale East Elementary School
in
Topeka, Kansas, where Dina was in the fifth grade.
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A pictorial celebration of Dina's
life
Written Easter 1998
by Grandma Marge Marshall
Edited
08-Nov-09
Click to see larger view |
Left: Dina on her first birthday. Right: Dina, at 18 months, with her parents, Janet and Vasili, and her brother, Tasso, who was nearly 3. Dina
was named after her
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Left: Dina plays happily in her bed at Winfield, Kansas, State Hospital and Training Center. She's almost 2 years old. Right: Grandma and Grandpa Marshall got to visit Dina several times a year. The staff made us feel welcome. |
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Thanksgiving 1991, Dina's brother and cousins came to visit her. Clockwise: Dina, Kari, Jason, Jami, Halee, Tasso and Branin. Dina's cousin, Miranda, didn't get to be there, so at left is a photo of her, taken later. |
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Mother and children. Janet, Tasso and Dina |
Brother and sister. Tasso, 11 and Dina, 10 1992 |
Dina couldn't talk, but she could smile! |
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When Dina was born with multiple birth defects, doctors said she would probably only live a year or two at most. But the skillful loving 24-hour care provided by the staff of the Training Center gave Dina a wonderful quality of life. They were her second family. She was a joy to them, as well as to us. Many of the staff members told Janet that they'd stop by Dina's unit to see her, because she cheered them up. Caring for severely disabled people is stressful, and Dina showed them it was worthwhile. |
Sadly, it all came to an end when the decision was made to move the residents from the State Hospital Training Center into community facilities. Dina enjoyed being in school with other children her age. But she "fell through the cracks," and didn't receive the quality of care she'd had at Winfield. WSH&TC no longer exists; it was closed a couple of years after Dina passed away. |
Dina's friend, Debbie, says goodbye as Dina leaves WSH&TC |
