I didn\u2019t really make long-term plans. After ninth grade, I went to a vocational school where I learned a few trades\u2014car repair and electric welding. Later, I decided to study archaeology at university. During prep classes for the entrance exams, I met my future wife. At the time, I didn\u2019t know it, but instead of just getting an education, I found Sasha.<\/span><\/p>\n I started university in 2013, but by the end of the year, the Maidan protests began. In February 2014, my friends and I joined in defending Kharkiv, and I never went back to my studies.<\/span><\/p>\n All my friends from 2014 were part of the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation). One day, a friend called from there to warn me about the start of a full-scale war. He told me to be ready and come if I decided to join\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t fully believe him, just like most people. But there were only three weeks left until the war started.<\/strong><\/p>\n I woke up to the sound of explosions. The first thing I did was set up the basement for my mom so she could shelter there. <\/span>I went to the nearest military recruitment office I could reach. The only places I could get to were Solonytsivka or Peresichne\u2014villages in the region. Kharkiv was already out of reach because I didn\u2019t have a car.<\/span><\/p>\n My mom was relieved that I had a medical exemption from the army (a “white ticket”). \u201cThe most I\u2019ll do is peel potatoes in the kitchen<\/em>,\u201d I reassured her. <\/span>I didn\u2019t tell her how badly Kharkiv was being shelled, how every missile meant the death of seven people, or how desperately defenders were needed. I couldn\u2019t just stand by\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t fully remember how it all happened. Day by day, I wake up and relive the explosion: whoosh!!! \u2014 and pieces of the memory come together like a puzzle.<\/span><\/p>\n That day, I found a spot in the dugout to rest. It seemed like a safe enough place, and most importantly, it was warmer there than anywhere else. I was completely exhausted.<\/span><\/p>\n My comrade, Khaim, was sitting nearby. I clearly remember his legs stretched out as he rested. When the shell hit the dugout, his legs were shredded by shrapnel. Our commander, call sign Shnur, was hit too. He had just come in to check on us. His body was pierced by 20 pieces of shrapnel\u2014arms, legs, stomach, lungs\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n I learned all this later because I took a hard hit to the head and don\u2019t remember much. The guys told me I didn\u2019t lose consciousness right away. I even managed to walk to the evacuation vehicle myself.<\/span><\/p>\n As they told me the story, bits of my memory started coming back. Not events, just the unbearable pain. A pain that makes you want to die. A head injury can\u2019t be compared to anything else\u2014not arms, not legs\u2014I\u2019ve been through all that. This was different. A pain that consumes every part of you.<\/span><\/p>\n At first, the guys thought I only had a concussion since I was still walking after the injury. But that wasn\u2019t me\u2014it was the adrenaline running through my veins, keeping me going.<\/span><\/p>\n On the way, I started losing consciousness and turned pale. They pulled me out of the car and laid me down in the snow to revive me.<\/span><\/p>\n At the hospital in the nearest town, they gave me an injection, and I fell asleep. I didn\u2019t wake up for a month, spending three weeks in a coma.<\/span><\/p>\n Many people ask, “What\u2019s it like on the other side?” For me, it was like one of those movies where someone walks down a hallway, experiencing moments from their past life. That\u2019s how it was for me.<\/span><\/p>\n When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Sasha, my mom, and my brother. Coming back was hard. I kept thinking about what had happened to me and who I was now<\/strong>. My mom tried to comfort me: \u201cThey\u2019ll fix up your legs a bit, and you\u2019ll be discharged.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But I was far from “fixing my legs.” I had severe muscle atrophy\u2014I couldn\u2019t even bite a banana on my own. My left side was completely paralyzed, including my arm.<\/span><\/p>\n I screamed. I begged to be taken home. I had lost all hope.<\/span><\/p>\n Slowly, I started regaining feeling in my body. The bouts of anger faded, and I began to celebrate every small victory. First, my hand started working, and I was able to use my phone again. Then, my left side began to recover.<\/span><\/p>\n I know I have a long journey ahead<\/strong>. It\u2019s been a year and a half since my injury, Sasha and I got married six months ago, and my rehabilitation is still ongoing and will continue for a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n I was injured in February 2023, and on April 2nd, at the rehabilitation center in Kyiv, I tried to stand for the first time\u2014and immediately fell. I kept getting up and falling, again and again.<\/span><\/p>\n I met my rehabilitation doctor, Kateryna Oleksandrivna, on April 7th. They brought me to her in a wheelchair. It took me about two months of intense training to be able to walk down the hallway with crutches.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n At first, it was just lifting my legs one after the other, then the same with weights, using special equipment. There were many different machines and devices\u2014without them, my recovery wouldn\u2019t have progressed as quickly. There were exercise bikes and treadmills, where I took my first steps.<\/span><\/p>\n Later, the nurse took me to the Alley of Linden Trees, where I tried walking on my own. I really like that alley. At first, I could only walk five meters. Then 10 meters, and now, a whole kilometer.<\/span><\/p>\nThose Early Days<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Injury<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Hospital<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Return<\/b><\/h2>\n
Rehabilitation<\/b><\/h2>\n
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