Courtesy / Annick Prut
Two medical doctors from Grand River Well being and their households went to Ukraine lower than two months after the invasion of Russia. They introduced with them medical provides, $4,000 price of drugs and a great deal of necessary information.
Docs Michael Duersen and Heath Cotter taught younger Ukrainian fighters how you can bandage wounds. Deal with sick refugees. Considered one of their daughters performed the harp for the orphans affected by the warfare.
Throughout this humanitarian mission, two Rifle medical doctors labored alongside two Ukrainian medical doctors: husband and spouse Serhii and Yuliia Serdeniuk.
Shortly after 6pm EET on Thursday, Dr Serhiy skilled intermittent blackouts as he spoke to the Submit Unbiased by way of WhatsApp, a free worldwide calling service.
A disfigured man’s voice is muffled on the intercom at Angelia Clinic, A personal clinic nestled amongst a fleet of long-haul flats About two miles east of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, whereas Dr. Serhiy defined why he had quickly left Ukraine for Rifle, Colorado.
“I need to meet with as many individuals as potential to ask you to assist our service,” he mentioned calmly, in his finest English. “Simply yesterday our dental medical gear broke and we’d like $10,000 to interchange that.”
Annick Pruitt, director of group relations for Grand River Well being, mentioned Dr. Serhi, who has labored carefully with Kotter and Duersen, is scheduled to look at Grand River Well being’s Colorado River Chamber from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Grand River Well being is situated at 501 Airport Street.
“He’ll present an replace on the scenario there in addition to an replace on the brand new clinic they’ve constructed,” she mentioned.
Serhiy is the director of the cellular clinic unit. Go to these rolling medical bastions and serve the entrance strains of the warfare, now totally on the nation’s jap fringes. Up to now, he has performed about 60-65 clinics, every serving about 30 individuals per day.
He mentioned provides are all the time dwindling. As Russia modified ways from a failed blitzkrieg method to a brutal warfare of attrition, hospitals and faculties – even locations the place medicines are made – proceed to be focused by long-range missiles.
“Due to the warfare, the Russians bombed two of the largest factories that produce medicines for Ukraine,” Dr. Serhi mentioned. “For the time being, even when we now have the cash, we can’t purchase it in Ukraine, as a result of it’s not produced for Ukraine.”
Presenter / Annick Pruitt
Dr. Serhiy turned livelier as he continued to record different medical wants. This contains something and every little thing, from $20,000 for a brand new ultrasound machine and a more moderen battery, to psychiatric drugs as a result of anxiousness amongst Ukrainians is now rampant. With the ability nonetheless out, Dr. Serhii works with a flashlight, typically even by candlelight.
Simply this week, Dr. Serhiy was taking a drive by means of Ukraine to Warsaw, Poland. From there, flight to Munich, Germany. Then a flight from Munich to Frankfurt, Germany. From Frankfurt, Denver Worldwide Airport. From Doha Worldwide Airport, boarding alongside Freeway 70 to Venice.
Then Dr. Serhiy turned apprehensive. He mentioned he did not need to go away for Colorado. He prefers to remain and assist as many individuals as potential. At this second, he additionally remembered the assistance he acquired from overseas medical doctors, together with Kotter and Duersen.
“These actually courageous guys,” he mentioned, “usher in large bins stuffed with medical provides.”
Docs Kotter and Dohersen as soon as joined Dr. Serhiy on a go to to a Ukrainian village close to the Romanian border. A gaggle of refugees lately arrived from the war-torn metropolis of Mariupol, one of the crucial populated cities Cities have been badly destroyed throughout all the warfare to this point.
Dr. Serhi mentioned that one of many refugees, a 13-year-old boy, was bleeding profusely from his nostril for half an hour straight. With Dr. Cotter’s assist, the bleeding stopped inside three minutes, and the boy, who weighed about 110 kilos, survived.
“Dr. Heath stopped the bleeding by himself,” mentioned Dr. Serhiy. “It was a miracle that he was there at that second, when he was most wanted.
Once we stopped the bleeding, (the boy) began vomiting blood. We collected half a liter of blood that he had swallowed earlier than.”
The previous 11 months have clearly not been regular for Dr. Serhiy, whose first style of warfare got here when he was referred to as up as a army medic in 2015. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Dr. Serhiy moved his household from Kyiv to Germany, and so they have been again ever since. now.
He mentioned he had meals, a roof over his head, and heat. He joked humorous that every little thing in Kyiv is “not so unhealthy.” However he additionally misplaced lots, together with buddies.
“I misplaced,” he mentioned in a tone. Then he sighed. “My buddy, he was a colonel within the Ukrainian military… Sure, I misplaced lots of people.”
December 21, 2022 marked a historic day within the historical past of the USA. It was the primary time, since British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did so in 1941, {that a} overseas nationwide chief had come to Washington to deal with Congress. In his speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned that regardless of continued assist from the USA, there’s nonetheless extra to come back.
He instructed Congress: “Your assist is essential, not solely to face by means of such a battle, however to achieve the tipping level to win the battlefield.” “We’ve got artillery, sure. We’ve got it. Is that sufficient? Fairly frankly, not likely.”
In a really miniature model, Dr. Serhie’s go to to the Rifle is full of the identical intentions.
“I solely have one week to fulfill as many individuals as potential,” he repeated. “As a result of on Tuesday I’ll return to Ukraine, and on Wednesday we are going to go to Mykolaiv. It’s a metropolis on the Black Sea, and so they bomb it each day. We promise the individuals that we’ll be there and serve them for 3 days.”
“I can not miss this journey.”