Rocket and bomb attacks and artillery shelling kill and severely injure Ukrainian civilians.
Shelling, missile attacks on civilian cities, injuries, trauma, grief, and loss have become an integral part of Ukrainian life. For example, during a powerful missile attack on Kyiv on October 10, 2022, the body of waiter Valery Chaika was cut by the fragments of a Russian missile. His story reminds us how war can unfairly and cruelly change lives in an instant.
The man was going to work near the place of arrival. The explosion caused serious injuries to his arm, elbow and eye. The victim remembers people running and screaming, pieces of iron flying, a curtain of dust, cars overturning and honking.
Doctors removed shrapnel from Valeriy’s eye and leg. The impact tore out a third of the two bones of his elbow. At first, doctors talked about amputating the limb, but they managed to save it.
The leading expert of the #SaveTheLimb national program, Doctor of Medical Sciences, orthopedic traumatologist Vasyl Haiovych, took up the task of saving his crippled arm. So Valeriy underwent several surgeries and prosthetics of the joint.
Experts say that the percentage of amputations among wounded in Ukraine is 35% higher than during wars over the past 60 years.
Due to the active hostilities and systematic shelling by the Russians, gunshot and mine-blast injuries to limbs are the most common. But the state treasury was not ready to finance a large number of operations in wartime.
“If there is the slightest chance to save an arm or leg from amputation, we will fight! The patient just needs to fill in a questionnaire and attend a consultation where the doctors of the Save a Limb program will discuss this difficult case,” said Serhiy Soshynsky, President of the Health of the Ukrainian People Foundation.
Yuliana Fedorovych, a resident of Bakhmut, was also enrolled in the national program with a severe humerus injury. On the day her family decided to leave the city, the enemy started shelling the residential area.
Witnesses say that someone surrendered the positions of the Ukrainian military located nearby.
“There was a powerful explosion. I managed to cover my ears and head with my hands. When I recovered a bit and the ringing in my ears stopped, I realized that I was under the rubble. I started screaming and calling for help. When they helped me get out, I saw my fingers on my hand were torn. It felt like the limb was completely torn off. The military ran up and started gathering all the wounded to take them to the hospital. Already in the hospital, when they cut off my clothes, I saw the extent of the injury to my right hand,” the woman recalls.
The doctors said that the wound on her arm was 10×15 cm in size. The wound was dirty with debris, so it healed poorly. Some of the muscles had to be cut out. The doctors did not know what to do with the limb. Due to the improper growth of bones and muscles, no one wanted to take on the job.
Later, the woman turned to the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. There, doctors told her about the opportunity to get help from the International Charitable Foundation “Health of the Ukrainian People”.
“I found information about my injury on the Internet. I realized that I needed about 200 thousand hryvnias. It was unrealistic for my family to raise this amount. However, I got help with the prosthetic joint, and philanthropists covered all the expenses,” the woman recalls.
Although Yuliana’s apartment along with Bakhmut was burned to the ground and almost all her documents were lost, she believes in Ukraine’s victory and has a militant attitude. So, in addition to recovery, the woman’s family hopes for a better future.