The defender, who fights for Ukraine all his conscious life, lost both legs at the front. He underwent more than 20 operations and suffered from unbearable pain for four months. And at the same time, he kept his sense of humor and desire to further drive the enemy. He is currently recovering and preparing for prosthetics at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv.
Serhiy Denisov is 29. He is from the city of Vyshgorod, in the Kyiv region. He started fighting for his country as a student – during the Revolution of Dignity. And after the occupation of Crimea, he decided to defend his ideals already with a weapon in his hands. However, he was rejected eight times by the Military Commissariat, because he was of limited use even in wartime. But it was impossible to stop the young man. That is why he joined the ranks of the volunteer formation, and since 2015 he has been fighting. During the years at the front, he never once thought of returning to civilian life. Serhiy got married last summer, and spent his “honeymoon” fighting for the Kharkiv region. But at the beginning of September, an experienced fighter was blown up by several mines at once, losing both legs.
“I screamed in pain so that all the surrounding villages could hear. While I was being carried, I asked to be finished. This is the price of freedom and independence for me, which I pay and will pay. I knew what I was getting into. But I didn’t know that it would hurt so much – we have to be honest,” Serhiy says.
In four months, he underwent more than 20 operations and many blood transfusions. The most difficult task for the doctors was to save the warrior’s knee and avoid additional reamputation. When they succeeded, Serhiy was sent for rehabilitation and prosthetics to Lviv, to the NEZLAMNI center. Here, many specialists make efforts to put the patient on artificial limbs as soon as possible. The problem is that months without movement have immobilized Serhiy’s joint, his knee does not extend. To remove it, he works out with a physical therapist every day. He says that there is a positive dynamic – the amplitude of extension is gradually increasing.
Serhiy has been receiving treatment for almost a year, during which he lost not only his legs and liters of blood. An enemy rocket hit their apartment with his wife, and the young couple no longer have their own home. The wife is with her lover every day. Zhartoma says that she is in a day hospital. Supports in everything and even in the desire of the husband to continue military service. Serhii does not know how mobile he will be after prosthetics, but he is sure that his combat experience will be used.
“Human desires are stronger than anything else. Even the circumstances obey the desire, if it really exists. Losing limbs is not the end of life. There are prostheses, there are many options and they are effective,” says Serhii confidently.
Hundreds of people suffer every day due to Russian aggression, so in order to make their treatment and rehabilitation comfortable and accessible in Ukraine, in Lviv, at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center, a multidisciplinary team works with every Ukrainian, providing surgical, physical, psychological and psychosocial professional assistance . Thanks to the support of donors, a prosthetics workshop was opened and bionic prostheses are installed, as well as a new modern rehabilitation building: it is 7 floors with the most modern rehabilitation equipment. Every year, 10,000 Ukrainians will be able to receive help here.