Despite prosthetics, an unbroken spirit

A young man in a military uniform caught my attention in the park. He sat down on the bench, rolled up his pants and adjusted his prosthesis. A little boy who was passing by with his mother ran up to the soldier, hugged him and thanked him for defending Ukraine. It was so touching. Yes, many Ukrainians now need limbs. It sounds terrible!

In the streets of our city, it is increasingly possible to meet men with prostheses. They don’t look like people with limited physical capabilities to us, they are more like super heroes with steel limbs. But I am aware of the difficult path they went through, both physically and psychologically, before going out for a walk.

Mines and explosive injuries are the most common reason why military personnel lose their upper or lower limbs. According to preliminary calculations by experts, more than 5,000 Ukrainians need prosthetics and rehabilitation due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

My neighbour Yaroslav has been at the front since the first day of the war. He said soldiers are most afraid of losing their hands and eyes. “We don’t worry so much about our legs,” he jokes.

Most often, people need prostheses of the lower limbs: 60 to 65 per cent of amputations in the world concern legs. However, hand prostheses are more technologically complex. Thanks to modern technology, the wounded can choose the necessary type of prosthesis: from mechanical upper limbs to innovative bionic ones.

The Esper Hand a product of the Ukrainian startup Esper Bionics was included in the 200 world of leading innovations of 2022. Esper Hand is a bionic hand prosthesis that helps people with difficult physiological differences to live a full life. Moreover, the Esper Hand is able to give a person even better physical capabilities, such as to lift heavy things without fatigue in the arm muscles.

There was a sudden need for rehabilitation centres in Ukraine. After all, people need help here and now. Now it is most important for Ukraine to train a sufficient number of specialists who would have the necessary qualifications and provide high quality prosthetics.

Not so long ago, a modern rehabilitation National Centre, “Unbroken” was opened in Lviv. It is a unique place where adults and children affected by the war receive comprehensive qualified medical care. Among the areas of work of the centre are reconstructive surgery, orthopedics and prosthetics.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 11,000 wounded Ukrainians, including 350 children, have been treated here.

The most difficult is to write about is children’s prosthetics. Children often become victims of mine explosions. Russian soldiers often leave unpleasant “surprises” in the occupied territories. On Ukrainian TV and radio, we often hear messages about not touching strange objects or suspicious toys. They can be mines. But childish curiosity often leads to tragic consequences.

Soldiers and civilians with severe injuries also need psychological rehabilitation. My friend Kateryna is a translator at online meetings between Dutch psychologists and Ukrainian soldiers. “After the first consultations, I just sobbed for half the night. I felt all the horror of war through the eyes of soldiers. I tried to be the gate through which all these terrible stories pass. However, every word of the warrior remained in my heart,” Kate told me.

To be honest, all Ukrainians need psychological support. For the past two weeks, Russia has been shelling Ukrainian cities every night.

Sometimes I pretend there is no war, that it is far away, it is not mine. I hide in the shell of my everyday affairs. I am often ashamed of it. In such way I restore my psychological balance. We are all tired of war. But I am not afraid of this fatigue. My biggest fear is that the world will get tired of our war and will perceive it as something everyday and normal.