Legendary figure skaters, champions Roman Kostomarov and Oksana Domnina openly talked about how they survived a terrible tragedy and found the strength to move on at the World Youth Festival.
How Oksana found strength within herself
Oksana Domnina:
— When Roman was lying in intensive care, with doctors giving only a 1-2% chance of survival, I made a vow to myself: I have no right to give up. I told myself, “Okay, Oksana, you cannot afford to be down right now.” I perfectly understood that as soon as I fall down there, as soon as I give up – it’s over, there is no turning back. Every day started with me telling myself, “Yes, it’s tough. It’s really tough, impossible to imagine how tough. But everything will be fine. I promise.” And as soon as I started having unnecessary thoughts, I cut them off, saying, “Stop. We don’t think about this anymore. We cannot allow ourselves to think about it.” Yes, I talked to a psychologist, but it was not a long conversation.
How Roman is recovering
Roman Kostomarov:
— Love saved me. I am incredibly lucky with Oksana, she is my other half, my happiness. It is her faith and her love that helped me not to give up, not to say to myself lying on the hospital bed, “Well, I don’t want to go on.” I told myself, “I want to, I must come back.”
When my hands and legs were amputated, but the life-threatening situation had passed, I remained in the hospital for another month: every day I trained to come home to my children at least on prosthetics. I couldn’t afford for them to see their dad so helpless.
Oksana came to see me every day. We cried together for the first time: we hugged and cried for 15 minutes a day, and then wiped each other’s tears. And after that, we went to have breakfast. Our relationship took on a whole new level after everything that happened.
What the movie “Roman Kostomarov: Born Twice” will be like
Roman Kostomarov:
— Few people remember, but I already starred in two feature films. One was a crime film, the other was more comedic – I have experience. But that was a long time ago, back in 2009.
The movie “Roman Kostomarov: Born Twice,” which will be released in theaters on March 9th, is a documentary film. It’s a film about the dreams of young Roman Kostomarov, it starts with what I dreamed of as a child. It’s about how I achieved success in sports, what difficulties I encountered later. I must say, these were extremely difficult difficulties. You suddenly lost everything. Your hands, legs are being cut off. They cut you into pieces. Ahead is emptiness. You don’t know how to live at all, why live like this. And then you gather yourself and work. And you tell yourself, come on, man, live.
This film is about who made my life possible – about my family, my children, my beloved wife, parents, doctors, friends. Before the premiere, I myself am very nervous. This is a part of me, a part of our family, which I share with everyone. I do this to give motivation to fight for life to the end to every person. This film can and should be watched with children. I will go to the premiere with my family, with my children, with my mom.
Why it’s important to engage in sports
Roman Kostomarov:
— Sports toughen you and make you stronger. Especially professional sports. Throughout your career, you face great difficulties, both physical and moral. Therefore, it’s easier for an athlete to overcome life’s challenges – they are already toughened. Morally, it was still terribly difficult for me in the situation I found myself in, but maybe it was the athletic character that gave me the opportunity not to fall down, but to try to stand up and come home on my feet.
How to keep a family together even in difficult times
Roman Kostomarov:
— Family is a complex subject in itself. We all fall in love, we all experience these emotions towards each other, but over time, the passion, love wanes a bit. But if you truly love a person, then you understand that in order for two people to live together, it’s important to hear and listen to each other, interact with each other, constantly give in to each other, step on your ego, step on your “I” – only then can you truly keep that love, keep those feelings, and keep the family together. It’s important to be together from the beginning to the end. Because if you succumb to emotions every time, fall in love with new people every time, experience those youthful feelings, it will be difficult to maintain a family. If you love one person, have a family, have children, you need to be faithful.
About welcoming a third child into the family
Roman Kostomarov:
— We already have two children – a daughter and a son. I have always dreamed of having a third child. But I worry about my wife. Because right now I am like a third child in our family, as I need to be taken care of, pampered, nurtured, helped in everything. Fed, dressed. So we need to think, will she be able to handle a fourth, essentially, child.