Our Serbian Story: Dejana

I had the great privilege of meeting a young Serbian artist this past Monday by the name of Dejana Backo. She is fifteen years old, and was born without upper extremities. At her birth, the doctor who delivered her told her mother that she was severely deformed (the doctor told her that the baby had many more problems than Dejana actually had), and that she would die within 24 hours. He then asked her to sign a paper stating that she understood that the baby would die, and waiving her parental rights. As a young mother facing such devastating news, and knowing no better than to rely on the advice and counsel of this doctor, Dejana's mother, Sandra, complied with his request.

As it turns out, Dejana was a healthy baby, and she did not die. However, because her mother had waived her parental rights, the hospital --without informing Sandra -- sent Dejana to an institution for children with disabilities. Some five years later, her mother was reading the newspaper and saw an article about the efforts of this particular institution (which happens to be the same institution that I visited last year) to obtain prosthetic arms for a little girl who was born without arms. Sandra told me that as she looked at the photo, she realized that this child had to be her daughter because, as Sandra said, "she looked just like me." She immediately drove to the institution, claimed her daughter, and brought her home.

Shortly thereafter, Dejana's family discovered that she had a gift for painting, and they did everything they could to foster her talent. Dejana paints with her feet, and was one of the youngest artists ever to be invited to join the Association of Mouth and Foot Artists Worldwide. Her paintings are colorful and beautiful; here in the Richardson household, the resident art historians have decided that her painting style seems most similar to that of Van Gogh. Like Van Gogh, she uses short, fat brush strokes, and has an amazing eye for color and composition. I was honored when Dejana and her mother presented me with one of Dejana's paintings from 2004 as a gift for visiting them. I have included a picture of the painting, which is of four trees, below. She painted this particular painting when she was 8 years old!

After meeting Dejana earlier this week, I immediately approached the U.S. Embassy about including her work in an ongoing art exhibit program that takes place in the Embassy's cafeteria. I was met with an enthusiastic "yes," and am happy to report that the Embassy will host an exhibit of Dejana's paintings starting July 9, and running through the end of July!