An East Yorkshire woman is now on the last lap of paperwork to bring an abandoned baby home from the Ukraine. But although Elaine Chomyszak has worked for the past 18 months for this moment, she is dreading the journey home alone with the little girl.

Until two weeks ago, 18-month-old Ludmilla, who needs surgery for her twisted hands and legs, had not been out of the orphanage.

Elaine, 57, of Tibthorpe, near Bridlington, has been living in a battered old second-hand caravan near the institution for the past 10 weeks.

In an e-mail to the Mail, she wrote: "The final documents for the custody office are being lodged today, so I should have a decision soon, and then everything will go to the Ministry in Kiev.
"A commission will approve it in early September.
"They can't give me a date yet, so I may have to extend my flight home."

She added: "I think the journey home is going to be quite fraught, and I must admit that I am apprehensive about making the trip alone.

"Until two weeks ago, Ludmilla hadn't been out of the orphanage, but I have been taking her for walks in the park. Elaine's son-in-law, Simon Kendall, from Burton Agnes, hopes to meet up with Elaine when he joins a convoy of vehicles taking aid to the Ukraine next week.

She said: "I have got very attached to my old caravan and would like to bring it home.
"However, when it was towed over from England, the 2,000-mile trip didn't do it any good."

Used courtesy of the Hull Daily Mail