Lavinia Miloşovici: "I'm Trying to Find Peace!"

A few months ago we reported that Lavinia Miloşovici's daughter had passed away. She had suffered from a rare nervous system disorder ever since her birth and was never expected to get old, but even so her death at age 4 came as a great surprise. Needless to say, "Milo", who had put her career on hold to look after her little girl, was heart-broken, and many in the gymnastics world mourned with her.

ProSport just caught up with the bereaved mother, who sounds like she is still suffering every day, but can thankfully count on the support of her friends and former teammates.


(photo: ProSport)

Lavinia Miloşovici: "I'm trying to find peace!"

Almost three months after the death of little Denisa Florentina, the multiple champion still feels the drama she has suffered as keenly as before.

"It's very difficult to start all over again. When someone leaves like that, you don't get over it quickly. I miss my daughter, and everything we lived through together, and our struggle [for survival]. I have to be strong, but it's horrible," Lavinia says with a sad voice.

The loss of her daughter (who was diagnosed at birth with a rare nervous system disorder) at age 4 and a half has left an indelible mark on Lavinia. The cardiac arrest suffered by her little girl has changed her whole world. "This will never be a thing of the past for me. She will always be with me. She was my life," says the former gymnast sadly.

In Timişoara "Milo" is struggling to get through the greatest trial of her life: "I don't know what to do with my life. I haven't thought of what is to come next. I hope that time will heal my wounds and that I'll forget about the pain."

The double champion of the Barcelona Olympics, now aged 32, regularly receives signs of interest from those who appreciate her and are fond of her, including people from the world of sport. "My friends and my former teammates are calling me all the time to ask how I'm doing. That gesture of theirs warms my heart and makes me feel as if I'm not in this alone. I'm trying to find peace, but it's hard to find an equilibrium," she adds.

"We're standing by Lavinia and are trying to help her as well as we can. We hope she'll find peace, because she's a special person who deserves everything that is good in life" - Simona Amânar, little Denisa's godmother.

Family Tragedy for Lavinia Milosovici

Several Romanian newspapers have reported that Lavinia Milosovici's daughter Denisa passed away on October 12. She was four years old and had been suffering from a serious nervous system disorder ever since being born prematurely on March 20, 2004. At the time of her birth, Denisa was given an Apgar score of 1 out of 10, meaning her chances of a healthy survival were extremely limited. She only weighed 1.1 kilos, about three and a half times less than the average baby. In July 2007 she underwent an expensive and experimental operation in Beijing, which was mostly paid for by Romanian sports and business moghul Ion Tiriac. It now appears that the operation was to no avail. Denisa died at home and could not be resuscitated at the local hospital. She was buried in Timisoara yesterday. Milo's former teammates Simona Amanar (Denisa's godmother), Maria Olaru, Andreea Raducan, and Catalina Ponor attended the funeral, as did her former coaches, Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang. The President of Romania, Traian Basescu, sent flowers.



Octavian Belu was quoted by Mediafax as saying, "When I heard this shocking news, my first response was one of horror. I can only speak words of encouragement to Milo, who has sacrificed everything, including her coaching career, to do what little she could do for this child. Milo has lost a child who struggled with life herself, but for her as a mother it's a terrible blow. There is no greater curse for a parent than to lose a child. We can't do anything but give her all our sympathy and pray that she'll put this moment behind her. Personally, I don't think anything will ever erase this tragedy from Milo's life, but maybe the arrival of another child in the family will atenuate the shock of the loss."



We share Belu's shock at hearing the news. For Milo to have given up so much to look after her daughter only to lose her is, well, horrible. We wish her and her husband Cosmin all the best in getting over this terrible loss.