Ukraine's emergency medical evacuation aided in a miraculous recovery of a child severely injured in a missile explosion.
Thanks to a homegrown program dedicated to medical evacuations, coordinated by Ukraine's Ministry of Health with the support of the WHO and EU states, a severely injured Ukrainian boy, Roman, has managed to pick up the pieces of his shattered childhood and take on his much-loved hobbies of ballroom dancing and playing the accordion.
Three years ago, Roman, then 7 years old, found himself in the middle of a brutal Russian strike in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. The clinic he was sitting in with his mother was hit during a missile attack, taking the lives of 26 people, including Roman's mother. Roman managed to crawl out from under the debris, but his injuries were severe. He had internal injuries, burns covered 45% of his body, and spent two weeks in a coma due to the severity of his injuries.
When Roman finally woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar world. "When I woke up, I called out and a nurse came, but she spoke only in German and I couldn't understand," he said in a statement published by the World Health Organization (WHO). "At first, I didn't know where I was - I thought I was still in Ukraine. Then I saw that I was all wrapped in bandages, and I remembered the whole event and understood that I was abroad. I was so glad when my father arrived," he added.
A medical evacuation program for specialized care
Roman was evacuated to receive specialized care that wasn't available in Ukraine. He was transferred to the University Hospital of Dresden in Germany through Ukraine's then-new specialized medevac program. The program was established to provide urgent, specialist medical care to Ukrainian patients who cannot receive adequate treatment within Ukraine due to the ongoing war and the pressure on its health system.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Health coordinates the program, working closely with the WHO and various countries. Patients are assessed based on eligibility criteria, focusing mainly on critical cases that require specialized trauma care, cancer treatment, or rehabilitation services unavailable in Ukraine. Evacuating a critically ill child can present several challenges for both the patients and the medical team, as they are vulnerable to sudden deterioration and require specialist transfer teams who are skilled and experienced in treating pediatric patients.
Since its launch, the medevac program has helped over 5,000 Ukrainian patients in EU partner countries and various WHO Member States. Many countries participate in the program, with Germany, Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Spain being the most active. Today, Roman lives with his father in Ukraine, having taken full advantage of the program's lifesaving benefits.
After extensive physical rehabilitation, Roman was able to resume his hobbies. "Never give up. You never know what's waiting for you. Sometimes you may think that the road is so long," he said. "You may get there sooner than you think, or you may need more time, so you have to keep doing what you are doing and not give up".
It's a powerful message that brings hope and encouragement to those still struggling in difficult circumstances. Remember, the world is always listening to your story, and sometimes, a miracle can bring a glimmer of hope to the darkest of times.
Sources
- Ukrainian Ministry of Health
- World Health Organization
- Government of Norway
- Wikipedia (various articles on war in Ukraine, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and health worker)
- Health Aid Organization resource documents
- Against the backdrop of war-and-conflicts and the strain on Ukraine's health-and-wellness infrastructure, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health launched a specialized medevac program with the support of the WHO and EU states to provide urgent, specialist medical care to critically ill patients like Roman.
- politics and health-and-wellness intersect in Roman's story, as without this general-news worthy program, he might not have gained access to the specialized care that allowed him to resume his passions in science (ballroom dancing and playing the accordion).
