Dr. Dmytro Hanych turned the pinnacle of his hospital’s surgical division in Ukraine in February. Three days later, the invasion of the Russian military began. He informed his story to ABO Local Media Development Agency, a collaboration between 45 newspapers and 300 journalists unfold throughout Ukraine. They are linked by a typical web site — Svoi.international — and now the Boston Herald.
On March 4, I got here to the Popasna hospital to take over the duties from one other surgeon. I believed I might end my shift and go house to Svitlodarsk. But an hour later, our block was shelled by Grads. One rocket exploded proper subsequent to the hospital, close to the lab. The blast wave shattered all of the glass within the intensive care unit and the OR.
On the identical day, we admitted 5 individuals with extreme wounds. A person from the city heart had second-degree burns over his whole physique, one other man had a tibia fracture. A wounded girl needed to have her leg amputated, one other one was introduced with shrapnel head wounds. I attempted to tug the shrapnel items out, however they had been caught agency within the cranium bones. Fortunately, they didn’t penetrate by them. She was acutely aware; we supplied first support to her. On the identical day, we despatched all 5 of them with the ambulance that had come from Lysychansk.
The ambulance service doesn’t work in Popasna anymore, so individuals get to the hospital on their very own. Many of them include wounds from window glass, damaged by blast waves. A person got here from the city heart with a shrapnel fragment in his leg. I operated on him, however we are able to’t do difficult surgical procedures anymore, as a result of the big working theatre, which we used to gladly invite our worldwide colleagues to, is destroyed.
After we had moved right here, two males (later I discovered that their names had been Oleksandr Chemrat and Andriy Tkachenko) introduced us a number of sandbags to barricade home windows at the very least in our makeshift OR-cum-dressing room. When they got here for the second time, they got here beneath shelling, however they’re nice.
The shelling right here is frequent, extreme, and horrible. A missile hit the roof of the hospital. There was a fireplace, however a brigade of rescuers managed to place it out.
There are solely two of us remaining on the hospital out of the complete medical employees – Natasha the nurse and myself. She is from one other division, and I don’t even know her surname. It is so irrelevant now that I haven’t even considered asking her about it.
Seventy-seven individuals, primarily the aged, dwell with us within the basement. They are native residents who’ve moved in from the picket barracks, constructed by German POWs again then.
Today, the volunteers lastly acquired by to us. They have introduced meals. Now I’m going with them to Svitlodarsk, the place I need to hug my 7-year-old son, take off my footwear and garments smelling of conflict for the primary time in 10 days, and take a bathe.
Tomorrow I’ll come again to the hospital and do my job until the tip, until the victory. Glory to Ukraine!
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Source: www.bostonherald.com”