From the Frontline to the Path of Recovery: A Veteran’s Journey to Healing Abroad

Volodymyr is one of the war veterans whose return to “peaceful life” was forced by a severe injury. He suffered two open fractures in both legs after a mortar shell struck dangerously close to his position. Along with him, two other members of his unit were also injured.

“There was shelling, and a mortar hit a tree, sending shrapnel raining down. Both my legs were cut. I had open fractures, but thankfully, my blood vessels weren’t damaged,” Volodymyr recalls.

Evacuating Volodymyr from the site of the injury was a difficult process. His unit’s positions were located near a river, making the rescue effort last almost an entire day. First, his comrades carried him 2 kilometers by hand. Then came a grueling 3-hour journey to the hospital in Kramatorsk.

“In Kramatorsk, I received initial medical care, and then I was transported to Dnipro. They operated on me there and later sent me to Lviv. I needed two joint replacements, but because the injuries were so close to the bones, standard joints wouldn’t work. Custom ones had to be designed specifically for my legs, which could only be done abroad,” Volodymyr explains.

He was enrolled in the “MedEvac” program, which enables European clinics to provide treatment for injured Ukrainians. A hospital in Budapest offered to help. Volodymyr underwent three major surgeries abroad. First, the external fixators were removed from his legs. Then, a plate was implanted in his leg, and finally, the joints were replaced. The treatment was conducted step by step, keeping him abroad for nearly a year.

Recently, Volodymyr returned home and is gradually, step by step, learning to walk again on both legs.

Volodymyr is one of hundreds of soldiers who have undergone treatment abroad after being injured in combat.