Igor Yakovenko did not inform his wife about his injury to avoid spoiling her birthday.
Andriy Yaremko, a defender of Ukraine, sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in combat in the Kursk region. For almost a year, he has been recovering from the injury. Currently, Igor is undergoing his sixth rehabilitation course at the UNBROKEN Center, hoping to return to his profession as a shoemaker.
Before the war, Igor worked as a shoemaking master. He joined the Armed Forces in 2023 as a grenadier in the 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade. The injury occurred during close combat in the Kursk region last summer.
‘I no longer remember why I leaned down, but at that moment a fragment got under my helmet,’ Igor recounts. Initially, he did not tell his family about the injury because of his wife’s birthday on September 3.
After the first surgery in Sumy and further treatment in Kyiv and Lviv, Igor continued rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center. Although his left arm and leg were immobile, he can now move them and even cook food.