Diaspora

Larysa Zariczniak

Kyiv, Ukraine

On the week of 10-16 May 2015 a total of 54 reconstructive procedures were performed on 29 patients at the Main Kyiv Military Clinic. These procedures were performed by Canadian surgeons and nurses on the second medical mission of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF). Many patients and medical professionals came back from CUF’s first medical mission in November 2014.

One of those returning for the mission was Toronto nurse Damien Lyn. He was on the first mission because of his long history with other humanitarian medical missions to countries that have been affected by natural disasters or medical catastrophes. Lyn recalled that this mission has had a lasting imprint on him since he saw, first hand, what war does to people. He had never been on a mission in a country at war. He has also been heavily affected by the soldiers he has worked on and with: he himself admits that they have affected him on a personal level since they have shown him what true bravery is and how courageous they are at the front.

"CUF medical mission team with the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Canadian Minister of Foreign  Affairs, and His Excellency Roman Waschuk,  Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine"

One of the soldiers that the CUF mission has helped is Volodymyr. He was a soldier in the Ukrainian army in the early 1990s and served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a peacekeeper during the Balkan War. He says that in the Balkan War there were some rules but in this current war in Ukraine “they have no laws.” Shrapnel from a bomb injured Volodymyr’s eyebrow, but Canadian surgeons were able to reform the ridge by placing a bone graft above the eye.

Mount Sinai Hospital’s registered nurse Mykola Sydej was one of the nurses to look after Volodymyr during his procedure and in his post-op. Mykola still has very strong links with Ukraine since he is a “new Canadian.” He insisted that “what’s happening in Ukraine is constantly in my heart and mind and so I want to try to help in any way I can so that my motherland – the place where I was raised and grew up – can be a little bit better.”

Mykola also admits that even though the procedures are only plastic surgeries, they will make the soldiers’ “lives a little bit better and the patients that come in know that…this will be a betterment to their lives.” There were multiple motivations behind Mykola’s decision to join the CUF medical mission, “Of course there are a number of reasons why I’m here. I can help people who help others. This is also my country, and I can’t ever forget that and even though I am Canadian, I still feel Ukrainian…I also have family and friends who live here and I feel it’s my obligation to do something for them, even if it’s a little bit.”

That feeling of helping people who defend their homeland was explained by Mary Kobylecky, a critical care nurse who is on her first CUF mission. She admitted that she “can’t explain the interesting men I’ve met. These men are so brave and courageous and what we’re giving is a little bit of hope and help. A lot of the men have come to us with post-traumatic defects…” and the CUF mission will help these soldiers regain some normalcy back in their lives.

“I’m just amazed at the strength…you can’t measure it here,” she said. “There was one cute, cute soldier. He’s 21, injured with a gunshot wound and he told me after [the first mission], 3 hours after post-op he went back to the front lines in Mariupol. A Canadian nurse asked him why and he said ‘because.’ And you could see the fire in his eyes. He’s coming to get some of the shrapnel removed and he’s going back to the front. It’s all about the resolve: here’s a 21 year old who in Canada would be worrying about his driver’s exam and university and getting a job and things like that and here these boys are like ‘patch me up, stitch me up, and send me back!’ That’s how patriotic they are. Amazing!”

Mary is an example of the professional medical personnel on the CUF mission, who all want to come back for the proposed mission in November 2015. “I want to come back because I really am feeling that I’m helping and it’s a pleasure to meet these young heroes. I’m very proud – the skill set on this team is incredible and the nurses have a variety of experiences…and it’s a great exchange of education [of not only medicine but nursing as well]… it’s a team effort,” she stated.

Recently it was announced that the Government of Canada will spend $1.2 million in support of building additional health care capacity for the Ukrainian military, and this funding will allow the CUF medical missions to continue in the future. The missions will be led by Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn, Head of the Adult Craniofacial Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Professor of Plastic Surgery, University of Toronto. They are also sponsored by Eugene Melnyk, Canadian Tire, Molson Coors Canada, the Temerty Family, the Ihnatowycz Family, Bell Canada, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Jacyk Foundation, Buduchnist Credit Union, the Ukrainian Credit Union, Caravan Logistics, Yarcia Huculak and Family, CIBC, Manulife, and Community Trust Credit Union.