Volodymyr Vlyka, 51, from Lviv region, followed his sons to the war. For more than a year now, the veteran has been struggling with the consequences of a severe traumatic brain injury and is trying his best to restore mobility to his limbs.
Now the specialists at the UNBROKEN rehabilitation center in Lviv are helping him with this.
Mr. Volodymyr has worked as a miner all his life and retired before the start of the great war. However, on the 5th day of the full-scale invasion, the man voluntarily joined the Defense Forces, following his sons. By that time, the younger of them had already joined the ranks of the defenders, also of his own free will, and the older had signed a contract to serve in a border guard detachment even earlier. His father joined him.
The man was wounded last year in February. It happened in Donetsk region near Soledar. The enemy was storming the positions of our defenders, and one of the bullets hit Volodymyr in the head. According to doctors, it is extremely rare to survive such an injury. And Volodymyr did.
After being hospitalized in Kramatorsk, Dnipro and Kyiv, the heavily wounded defender regained consciousness only in Lviv. He fought for his life, and now he is fighting for his health. Due to a severe brain injury, the left side of Volodymyr’s body has completely failed.
For more than a year, the man has been trying to regain his ability to move normally and be independent in everyday life. His rehabilitation is ongoing. This summer he turned to the UNBROKEN Center for help.
For more than a month, Lviv specialists have been working with Volodymyr. At the moment, to protect himself from falls, he uses a four-pointed cane to move around. The patient’s goal is to learn to walk more steadily and faster. To achieve this, he works with a physical therapist twice a day. Together they work on increasing her endurance and improving her walking. It is now becoming more even and this is already a success. An occupational therapist is helping Volodymyr to work on his left arm, which is completely non-working.
Previously, the patient was able to dress almost independently, but he still faces many difficulties… He also still has a contracture, i.e., limited mobility in the elbow joint. The task is to increase the range of motion.
In addition, as a result of the injury, the man has problems with writing and cognitive skills, and an occupational therapist is also working to improve them. Unfortunately, with an injury like Volodymyr’s, full recovery is impossible. However, he is making every effort to become as independent as possible. His wife is always by his side. Together they overcome all difficulties, worry about their sons and wait for them to return with victory.