From war in a wheelchair to walking and wishing a Happy New Year

Fifteen-year-old Yaroslav Vakhitov fled the war in Ukraine to come to Canada and is currently attending high school in Pierrefonds.

He arrived in a wheelchair, and his host family made him feel welcome, as did the staff at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal.

Thanks to the supportive team and his neighbours - Vakhitov is now walking again.

"I started my rehabilitation in Montreal one month after I arrived in Canada," he said.

After every visit to the Shriners, he improved and went from using a wheelchair to walking in just two months.

Vakhitov is from Odesa, Ukraine. In February, due to complications from cerebral palsy, he underwent surgery on his legs. He was recovering when Russia invaded his country.

The Vakhitov family of six fled Ukraine and was taken in by Dan and Tatiana Romano.

"I have the means and desire to showcase that everybody can open their home and accommodate a family who is suffering from a war, an unjust war," said Tatiana.

The couple even renovated their Dollard des Ormeaux home to fit even more families.

"The entire house was an obstacle course. We had no place to cook, we had no place to store food," said Dan.

Their neighbours helped by providing meals and more.

"We had donations coming in, in terms of clothing and furniture for the people we were helping set up, and then more donations coming in to help us host these people," said Dan. "Many of these neighbours we didn't even know."

A real sense of community was created around the Ukrainian families at the Romano house.

Yaroslav Vakhitov makes regular visits to the Shriners hospital for physiotherapy.

"He had a very mild cerebral palsy with very severe flat feet which interfered with his walking ability, and he had very tight hamstrings with his kneecaps high, a bit of pain," said hospital chief of staff Dr. Thierry Benaroch. "What they did, they fixed the foot and lowered the kneecap to put less pressure on the knee."

The young man still has screws in his knees, which will be removed next year, but they don't seem to be slowing him down.

This is good news since some Ukrainian families arrived at the Romano house with their dogs, and holiday parties are being planned.

"I've invited everybody to celebrate the New Year with us," said Tatiana. "New Year is something we celebrate a lot. That's part of our culture."