James “Jimmy” Hill refused to postpone his trip to Ukraine last month to bring medical treatment to his longtime partner Irina Teslenko, who has been suffering from progressive multiple sclerosis, his family said Saturday.
Katya Hill said Irina’s illness had progressed to the point that she had lost the ability to walk and much of the use of her hands. She said her brother — a native of Eveleth, Minnesota, who was living in Driggs, Idaho — had spent months trying to secure treatments to stop the progression of the disease and had finally arranged for treatment in February.
Katya said the two met while her brother, who taught social work and forensic psychology at universities in various countries, was teaching a class in Ukraine. He knew instantly that he was in love and they spent years together, talking for hours every day on the phone when Jimmy was back in the Unites States.
Katya said her family is still waiting to hear directly from the U.S. State Department to get details of where his body is.