Rich Frishman Photography


 
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His heart failing, Sergei Vorosov has slept 12 hours and, as usual, has little appetite.<br/>His mother Marina makes sure he eats some of his hot buckwheat and tea.



Despite his pleas, Sergei is held firmly on his Grandmother's lap while<br/>Marina prepares to give him the last of his daily injections.In their cramped Khabarovsk hotel room on their last day together, Marina Vorosov cradle her little 6-year old boy and gently rocks him. She knows<br/>that without the critical surgery which awaits him in America, he will sooon die. But when she lets go of him tonight, she knows she may never see him again.



On their last day together, Marina cradles her frail 6-year old boy and gently rocks him. She knows that without the critical surgery which awaits him in America, he will soon die. But when she lets go of him tonight, she knows she may never see him again.



Having spent years, and practically every ruple, to get their son to America for heart surgery, Sergei's father<br/>tries to absorb their few remaining moments together. He knows he may never see his son again.



Sergei and Marina hold their son one final time in the dark Khabarovsk airport before he leaves for America.<br/>All they have told him is that he is going to America to become healthy.



Half way through his all-night flight, Sergei is frightened and feels alone. Hearing his<br/>muffled cries, Tatiana Khokorina woke to comfort the little boy.



Sergei stares out at the Anchorage Airport, exhausted after his<br/>7-hour flight from Russia and still facing a long flight to Seattle.



Having just cleared US Customs, Sergei rests atop luggage in the Anchorage Airport<br/>as Krista Atkison, a Russian-speaking airport employee, reassures him.



Arriving in Seattle, Sergei cries as he holds the hand of his host mother.



On his first visit to a McDonald's, Sergei is amazed by this quintessential American experience: the smells, the tastes,<br/>the variety, the abundance, the sparkling stainless steel and the toys. He orders a cheeseburger Happy Meal.



Well past midnight, Sergei plays with Legos by the light of his headlamp, alone in his bedroom.<br/>Later he would confide in his translator that he was afraid he would die in his sleep.


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