“When the war started, we didn’t have anything. We received a lot of good equipment from many international companies.Now I only get equipment/supplies from Sign Fracture Care delivered by Hands On Global. With war, everything is in shortage now.”
“Some foreign doctors come from other countries through the Ministery of Health. Most of the medical care is by Ukraine doctors. We take care of our patients. It is on our shoulders.”
He goes all over Ukraine to perform orthopedic trauma surgeries. He operates at different hospitals every week; multiple surgeries in a day. Yesterday he drove 300 km (186.4 miles) for 2 surgeries. He has driven 800 km (497 miles) for a surgery and then drives home.
What keeps him going? “I do this for my daughter’s future. For all children – their future.” His wife and daughter are in Canada and he tries to visit once a year. His daughter was 6 when she left and is now 10 years old. She always asks on their calls when he can come visit.
“I work 6 to 9 hours a day in the OR. Operating rooms can be open 24 hours depending upon the needs. Without exercise, I would not be alive. One day completely exhausted; feeling no happiness, he ate a treat and realized he was not tasting the sweetness. He felt burnout. He knew “self-rehab“ was needed. He would read a non-medical book and realized after several pages that he had not remembered what he had read. He would switch on the TV or a movie but it did not entertain him. He knew he needed a time out. When speaking with his colleagues he asked if they were burning out. They responded, “How can we burn out when we are already ash”.
Our hearts dropped when we heard this. “And when Hands On Global brings the boxes of equipment, it is not only great support … it is like gifts at Christmas and we open them and get to play with this wonderful equipment!”
“Doctors here are always trying to improve ourselves and learn new ways to use the equipment we have to its maximum benefit. We see complex conditions due to the war and our resources are limited.” He gets paid when he operates on a private patient but donates his services for free when he operates on an injured soldier. His kindness, compassion and skill was so moving to all of us on the HOG team.
