Helena was born a healthy girl. In high school, due to a pituitary tumor and after two surgeries, she lost her sight. Later, she also lost her hearing. Today, she is a person with deafblindness who has retained her speech.
Once, with her guide dog, she moved around completely independently. But as she gradually lost her hearing, the world around her became dangerous. For a long time, she was confined to her home. Her dreams collapsed overnight, yet she never lost her will to live.
When her family first wanted to include her in the Deafblind Association of Slovenia DLAN, they had doubts—would she be understood? Would anyone know how to listen to her?
Today, Helena is the President of the Deafblind Association of Slovenia DLAN. With pride and courage, she represents all people with deafblindness.
“Without the help of others, I wouldn’t be here today. And I wouldn’t be able to do what I do,” she often says.
Helena loves books, walks, her typewriter on which she writes in Braille, and jokes.
“I’m all for jokes,” she likes to say. And it’s true. Helena knows how to make people laugh.
She is not only a president. She is a symbol.
Proof that even in the midst of darkness and silence, it is possible to find light, hope—and laughter.
“Pretty, pretty, like a turnip from Skalčka,” Helena says, bursting into laughter.
Her upright posture, laughter, and presence speak louder than a thousand words.
