Silva
Winning reportage in People category.
Slovenia Press Photo.
I’m deeply honored to receive the award from Slovenia Press Photo for winning reportage in People category for story about »SILVA« and for honorary mention in category Nature with photo »The way of Heart«.
I’m grateful and thankful to the jury, Zohra Bensemra (Thomson Reuters), Darko Bandić (Associated Press), Enrico Dagnino and coordinator of the event Matej Leskovšek.
English
I decided to do a story about a woman named Silva because so many people are dealing with cancer, and I wanted to give them a story of hope. Silva is also a volunteer in the Association of Oncology Patients of Slovenia, where she helps women who go through a similar experience. She said that the first question they asked is, how long ago she had cancer and if the disease returned.
She was 41 years old when she felt a lump in her left breast. The personal doctor had sent her to the thoracic department, where she was supposed to remove the lump and send the tissue for examination, but when she woke up from the narcotic, she was without the left breast. This is how Silva begins her story about cancer that 22 years ago changed her life. She will never forget the moment when waking up from the surgery she felted strange at the chest area and discover that her doctor has removed her entire left breast. When asked how a doctor can remove her breast without her permission, she said that he did not want to wake her up from narcotics, so the doctor decided instead of her. She expected a little intervention and not the removal of the breast, for what she was not prepared at all. And after this shock followed another, where the analysis showed that the lump was cancerous.
Silva was determined to beat the disease and with the help of her family and friends and she did. At that time it is important to find a special place, she said, while walking through an old deserted abbey. That kind of places helps you maintain inner peace, she mentioned and said that she doesn’t believe in God by meanings of Church. Going through emotional turbulence was hard, but also being without one breast, she said. So seven years after the operation she decided for the reconstruction of her breast with tissue from her body. That operation changed her life, she finally started feeling a whole woman again, so she started to dance belly dance to celebrate femininity and joy for life. Dance also helped her not to fall into depression in the darkest moments. And today she performs at various charity events.
Before cancer, she was shy and quiet person afraid of everybody opinion and with this experience that has changed, and in some way, cancer changed her life for better, not only she is stronger but also a more determined person and is not afraid anymore to be what she is and enjoy life as she wants.
I found Silva at 63 remarkable, with her bright colors, feeling for aesthetics and love for dance and joy. And that is why I decided to create a story about Silva because so many people are facing cancer and because the disease drags people down and into isolation; though Silva’s experience I wanted to put her story out and spread not only hope but above all optimism. That’s why I named her experience as the story of Hope.
Slovenian
Zgodbo o Silvi sem se odločila narediti, ker se toliko ljudi sooča z rakom posredno ali neposredno in sem skozi izkušnjo Silve dala na plano zgodbo upanja. Silva, ki je raka na dojki premagala, pomaga tudi kot prostovoljka v INFO centru UKC Maribor, Društvo onkoloških bolnikov Slovenije in pravi, da prvo kar jo vprašajo osebe, ki gredo skozi tovrstno izkušnjo je, koliko časa nazaj je imela rak in drugo vprašanje, ali se ji je povrnil.
Njena zgodba, ki ji je spremenila življenje, se je pričela pred 22 leti, ko je otipala bulico v levi dojki. Poslana je bila na pregled, kjer bi naj bulico odstranili in tkivo poslali na pregled. Pravi, da nikoli ne bo pozabila trenutka, ko se je zbudila iz operacije in zatipala svoj predel prsi in občutila, da ji je zdravnik odstranil celotno dojko. In če to ni bil dovolj velik šok, je sledil slednji, kjer je analiza pokazala, da je bulica bila rakasta. Na vprašanje, kako ji lahko zdravnik brez njenega dovoljenja odstrani dojko, pravi, da je niso želeli zbudi iz narkoze, zato se je zdravnik odločil namesto nje.
Stara je bila 41 let, ko je šla skozi izjemno težko izkušnjo, ki ji je spremenila življenje in to na boljše. Sedaj vidi, da je bila prej bolj tiha in obremenjena z mnenjem drugih in da si ni upala živeti svojega življenja, kar pa je rak spremenil. S pomočjo podpore družine in prijateljev je to bolezen premagala in zaživela življenje, kot ga je želela. Sedem let po operaciji se je odločila za rekonstrukcijo dojke. »Ne moreš misliti, kako je moteče biti brez ene dojke«, mi je dejala, ko je razkazovala, kakšne modrčke je imela na razpolago in kakšni so vstavki na razpolago. Rekonstrukcija, kjer so s tkivom njenega telesa ustvarili dojko, ji je popolnoma spremenila življenje. »Ponovno sem se počutila celo in ženstveno ter pričela z orientalskim plesom,« pravi in nadaljuje, da ji je ples omogočal veliko več kot slavljenje življenja in ženstvenosti, namreč ples ji je pomagal, da v najtemnejših trenutkih ni podlegla temi depresije.
Silvo smatram za izjemno in fascinantno osebo, ki je pri 63 letih žareča in mladostna, polna živih barv in občutka za estetiko, uživa v plesu in življenju in ki je travmatično izkušnjo dojela kot veliko darilo, ki ji je omogočilo, da je spremenila svoje življenje na boljše in resnično zaživela. Zato sem zgodbo Silve poimenovala kot zgodbo upanja.
She was 41 years old when she felt a lump in her left breast. The personal doctor had sent her to the thoracic department, where she was supposed to remove the lump and send the tissue for examination, but when she woke up from the narcotic, she was without the left breast. This is how Silva begins her story about cancer that 22 years ago changed her life.
Stara je bila 41 let, ko je zatipala bulico v levi dojki. Osebni zdravnik jo je napotil na torakalni oddelek, kjer naj bi bulico odstranil in tkivo poslali na pregled, a ko se je zbudila iz narkoze, je bila brez dojke. Tako se začne zgodba Silve, ki ji je rak pred 22 leti spremenil življenje.
Silva is a breast cancer survivor and she is a volunteer at the UKC Maribor INFO Center, the Association of Oncology Patients of Slovenia, where she helps women who go through the similar experience and she said that everybody has the same first two question, how long ago she had cancer and whether id disease returned. She decided to volunteer because she would like to help in the way she needed the most, through conversation with a woman who had a similar experience. And today she is that woman who listens and with her story gives hope to others.
Silva, ki je raka na dojki premagala, pomaga tudi kot prostovoljka v INFO centru UKC Maribor, Društvo onkoloških bolnikov Slovenije in pravi, da prvo kar jo vprašajo osebe, ki gredo skozi tovrstno izkušnjo je, koliko časa nazaj je imela rak in ali se ji je povrnil. Za prostovoljstvo se je odločila, saj želi pomagati na način, ki ga je tudi sama najbolj potrebovala, in sicer skozi pogovor; pogovor z žensko, ki je sama preživela podobno izkušnjo. Danes je ona tista ženska, ki posluša in tolaži ter daje upanje s svojo zgodbo.
She will never forget the moment when waking up from the surgery she felted strange at the chest area and discover that her doctor has removed her entire left breast. When asked how a doctor can remove her breast without her permission, she said that he did not want to wake her up from narcotics, so the doctor decided instead of her. She expected a little intervention and not the removal of the breast, which she was not prepared for that at all. And after this shock followed another, where the analysis showed that the lump was cancerous.
Pravi, da nikoli ne bo pozabila trenutka, ko se je zbudila iz operacije in zatipala svoj predel prsi in občutila, da ji je zdravnik odstranil celotno dojko. Na vprašanje, kako ji lahko zdravnik brez njenega dovoljenja odstrani dojko, pravi, da je niso želeli zbuditi iz narkoze, zato se je zdravnik odločil namesto nje. Pričakovala je manjši poseg in ne odstranitev dojke, na kar sploh ni bila pripravljena. In če to ni bil dovolj velik šok, je sledil slednji, kjer je analiza pokazala, da je bulica bila rakasta.
Seven years after surgery, she decided to do reconstruct her of the breast. “You can not imagine how it is disruptive to be without one breast,” she told me when she showed me what kind of brass it is available for women with one breast. Reconstruction of her breast was done with the procedure where tissue from her body was taken and with that breast was created.
Sedem let po operaciji se je odločila za rekonstrukcijo dojke. »Ne moreš si misliti, kako je moteče biti brez ene dojke«, mi je dejala, ko je razkazovala, kakšne modrčke je imela na razpolago in kakšni so vstavki na razpolago. Rekonstrukcija, kjer so z tkivom njenega telesa ustvarili dojko, ji je popolnoma spremenila življenje.
After the operation of reconstructing her breast, she felt again whole and feminine. She started to feel again as a woman.
Po rekonstrukciji dojke, se je ponovno počutila celo in ženstveno ter ponovno začutila sebe kot žensko v celoti.
Before cancer, she was a silent type of person and very much burdened with the opinion of others. She did not dare to live her life, and that was changed with cancer. With family and true friends by her side, she overcame disease and was reborn, as she begins to live her life as she wanted.
Prej je bila bolj tiha in veliko bolj obremenjena z mnenjem drugih in si ni upala živeti svojega življenja, kar pa je rak spremenil. S pomočjo podpore družine in prijateljev je to bolezen premagala in zaživela življenje, kot ga je želela.
In the castle of Slovenska Bistrica (the city in Slovenia), there is a permanent exhibition of jewelry and furniture world-known surgeon, doctor Zora Janžekovič, because of her contribution, the reconstruction of the breast is even possible and successful. Prof. dr. Zora Janžekovič invented the method of immediate surgical treatment of burns in 1961, which saved many victims of burns, who would have otherwise died, and thus led the Maribor hospital in Slovenia as the education center, where the world’s most renowned experts in the field of plastic, reconstructive surgery and burns. Zora Janžekovič received numerous awards, including the 2007 Golden Razor, the award for individuals who made an exceptional contribution. She died 2015 at age 96 and she donated her awards, jewelry, and furniture to the city where she was born. And that is the same city Silva lives.
V gradu v Slovenski Bistrici so na ogled nagrade, nakit in pohištvo izjemne kirurginje svetovnega slovesa, in sicer gre zahvala dr. Zori Janžekovič, da je rekonstrukcija dojke sploh možna in tudi uspešna. Prof. dr. Zora Janžekovič je v leta 1961 izumila metodo takojšnjega kirurškega zdravljenja opeklin, s čimer je rešila mnogo žrtev opeklin, ki bi sicer morale umreti ter tako povedla mariborsko bolnišnico v center edukacije, kamor so prihajali na učenje najimenitnejši svetovni strokovnjaki s področja plastične, rekonstrukcijske kirurgije in opeklin. Prejela je številne nagrade, med drugim leta 2007 Zlato britev, ki je namenjena posameznikom, ki so naredili izjemen doprinos.
The illness and the traumatic experience that we experience at the same time enable us to face ourselves and to explore our identity and the concept of ourselves, and at the same time deepen ourselves into our very essence.
Bolezen in travmatična izkušnja, ki jo ob tem doživimo, nam omogoča, da se soočimo s seboj in raziščemo svojo identiteto ter predstavo o sebi in se hkrati poglobimo vase in v svoje bistvo.
She claimed not to be a religious person, but she believes connecting with your femininity is like connecting with the sacred space that we carry within ourselves.
Povezovanje s svojo ženstvenostjo je kakor povezovanje s svetim prostorom, ki ga nosimo v sebi.
After the reconstruction of the breast, her femininity was restored and she began with an oriental dance, which she said gave her more than a celebration of life and femininity; namely, the dance helped her not to fall in depression in the darkest moments.
Po rekonstrukciji dojke se je obnovila njena ženstvenost in pričela je z orientalskim plesom, za katerega pravi, da ji je omogočil veliko več kot slavljenje življenja in ženstvenosti; namreč ples ji je pomagal, da v najtemnejših trenutkih ni podlegla temi depresije.
Dance has become an important part of her life and today she also performs at various charity events.
Ples je postal pomemben del nje in prav tako nastopi na različnih dobrodelnih prireditvah.
Silva, an extraordinary and fascinating person who, at 63 years of age, is youthful, glowing and full of vibrant colors. She enjoys the beauty of life more than ever before, especially being in company with her two grandchildren Aljaž and Jan. Through her story, she gives us insight into an extremely traumatic experience that she perceived as a great gift, through which she changed her life and now truly lives her life.
Silva, izjemna in fascinantna oseba, ki je pri 63 letih žareča in mladostna, polna živih barv in občutka za estetiko, uživa življenje v celoviti paleti, od vsakdanjih malenkosti pa vse do njenih dveh sončkov, vnukov Aljaža in Jana. S svojo zgodbo nam daje vpogled v izjemno travmatično izkušnjo, ki jo je tekom časa dojela kot veliko darilo, skozi katero je spremenila svoje življenje in resnično zaživela.
I decided to do a story about Silva because so many people are dealing with cancer and because the disease drags people into isolation, though Silva’s experience I wanted to put her story out and spread not only hope but above all optimism. Silva was 41 years old when she went through an extremely difficult experience that changed her life and today she is aware that this change was for better.
Zgodbo o Silvi sem se odločila narediti, ker se toliko ljudi sooča z rakom posredno ali neposredno in ker bolezen povleče človeka v izolacijo in osamelost, sem skozi izkušnjo Silve želela dati na plano njeno zgodbo in širiti ne samo upanje, ampak predvsem optimizem. Silva je bila stara 41 let, ko je šla skozi izjemno težko izkušnjo, ki ji je spremenila življenje in danes se zaveda, da je bila to sprememba na boljše.