At last, the time for Serhiy’s surgery within the biotech project has come. Last week the doctors implanted the bone matrix saturated with the man’s own stem cells, into the prepared recipient area. Thus the specialists of the Project replaced the defect of the shoulder bone, and fixed the structure using special plates.
As a result of shotgun injury, Serhiy had lost a part of his shoulder joint, which makes the implantation more complicated and requires manufacturing of an implant. Still Serhiy underwent the operation and did it well, which is not surprising at all, as it is not only doctors’ skills that matter, but patient’s attitude as well. Serhiy is a very optimistic and success driven person which inspires confidence in both the volunteers and the doctors. After the current post-surgical period the man is going to be released home. In two months a control check-up is planned: it will show how fusion of the bones goes.
Let us remind you that Serhiy got wounded in May of 2017 near the village of Shyroka Balka. Terrorists fired with ARs at our defenders’ positions, and their bullet hit Serhiy in the arm.
This is what Serhiy recollects from that day: “It happened on the 11th of May when I was going along our positions. Near Horlivka, I had three observation posts. When crossing the sector clearly visible for the opponent, I sensed a push on my shoulder, and the pain made me kneel down. The arm cramped but there was no blood at first. The guys immediately realized that I got wounded, so they bandaged my shoulder. I told them which items they should put into my rucksack and thought to myself: “Now you know how it feels to be wounded”. When they carried me along a bumpy field road, our vehicle got shaken and my shoulder started bleeding with foam again. Still Olha Serhiivna, our medic, managed to stop the bleeding”.
The bullet went through the shoulder and smashed the bone up. The part that suffered most was the upper third, especially the head of the joint.
Due to his injury Serhiy underwent treatment in military hospitals of Kharkiv and Kyiv. There he underwent a few surgeries followed by a dangerous complication, the bone edema, which might have resulted in loss of the limb. The left arm went totally non-operational and remained insensitive. Still Serhiy planned to stay in the Ukrainian army, so restoration of the arm and total renewal of its functionality was a must for him. And restoration of the bone with application of cell technology is the most productive way to achieve this, especially in Serhiy’s case.
It was iryna Kyrylenko, a volunteer and lawyer who directed Serhiy into the Bioengineering Rehabilitation for Wounded project. Then the issue of payment arose. Thanks to your help we have already managed to raise about 400 hundred hryvnias. For the moment, we have paid all the claimed costs on Serhiy’s treatment. Still Serhiy is the Biotech’s not last patient requiring help. We urge you to support treatment of the wounded and donate into the Bioengineering Rehabilitation for Wounded project. The state is not going to participate in it, so we have to rely upon themselves solely. And our Project still makes the only chance for recuperation for many wounded.
