A New Path to Independence: The Story of Oleksandr Yurchenko / A New Path to Independence: The Story of Oleksandr Yurchenko

"The mine exploded half a meter away from me. Immediately, I got a bruise all over my face, my muscles squeezed my eyes shut. I could not see anything. The second hit hit my hands. They were smashed by shrapnel, but I tried to tear my eyes open with them. Nothing worked," says 36-year-old Oleksandr Yurchenko from Pryluky. He was wounded six months ago in the Kharkiv region.

The soldier called for help on the radio, but everyone who knew the way to his position in the forest was killed. So he set off at random, calling out for his men. Now the man considers it a miracle that he did not run into trees and made it to the Ukrainian soldiers' dugout alive.

"I am happy that I have such an injury - loss of sight (his eyeballs were destroyed)," the veteran jokes, "otherwise I could have lost my brains.

His optimism and cheerful disposition did not allow him to sour. He deliberately asked his family not to come to visit him in hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

"I didn't want to have my pillows adjusted or be led by the hand. It would have prevented me from toughening up. I would have fallen into depression, resented the whole world and ordered my family to bring me coffee. I want to become independent as soon as possible, as I was before. That's why I left on my own 20 days after being wounded, that's why I ask my family not to do anything for me. I fell and bruised myself, but this is the only way to learn. If you hit the threshold a hundred times, you'll make it to the 101st."

It was the first time Oleksandr came to the support and rehabilitation camp for veterans who lost their eyesight in the war and their families, organized by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine. Here, they immediately began to restore his eyesight. He was taken to ophthalmologist Yulia Saldan (associate professor of eye diseases at Vinnytsia Pirogov National Medical University), who arranged with a private clinic to provide Yurchenko and another veteran with free eye prostheses. These are permanent ones. Before that, they had temporary ones that looked unattractive because they replaced only part of the eye.

"I used to have to wear glasses all the time to avoid scaring people. And these prostheses are as good as a real eye, I even have a pupil, and they matched my iris color - brown," Oleksandr boasts.

The men were given several practical lessons on how to take care of them. Remove twice a day, rinse.

"I'm not very good at it, but I think I'll learn by the end of the shift," the veteran said.

He is pleased with the camp team, where each coach teaches a new discipline.

"These people are trying, investing not only their souls, but themselves. We learn how to read and write in Braille, how to use a computer, how to exercise, how to do massages, and how to take care of ourselves and how to do everything around the house. I can peel potatoes, and I think I'll come back and cook borscht!"

Yurchenko likes spatial orientation lessons the most. The man has problems with his vestibular apparatus: he sways while walking.

"I take my hat off to my teacher Vasyl Hoshovsky. He invents different ways to help me: either to walk holding on to a thread stretched between two columns, or he invented a "ladder" where the steps are made of ropes and you have to step on them."

In addition to the team, he is interested in people like him: those who have lost their eyesight completely. How they cope with difficulties on their own, what helps them, is the task that Oleksandr sets himself for the coming days.

This event was held within the framework of the project "Crisis in Ukraine: Response and Recovery with the Needs of Persons with Disabilities, led and coordinated by organizations of persons with disabilities (Phase 2), implemented by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine with the support of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the Christian Blind Mission (CBM).

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"The mine exploded half a meter away from me. I immediately got a bruise all over my face, and my muscles squeezed my eyes shut. I could not see anything. The second explosive hit my arms. They were smashed by the fragments, but I tried to pry my eyes open with them. Nothing helped," says 36-year-old Oleksandr Yurchenko from Pryluky. He was wounded six months ago in Kharkiv region.

The soldier called for help on the radio, but everyone who knew the way to his position in the forest had been killed. So he set off at random, calling out for his men. Now, Oleksandr believes it was a miracle that he did not run into trees and made it to the Ukrainian soldiers' dugout alive.

"I'm happy that I have this kind of a wound - loss of vision (his eyeballs are destroyed)," the veteran jokes, "or I could be left without brains."

His optimism and cheerful nature did not allow him to turn sour. He deliberately asked his relatives not to come and visit him in hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

"I didn't want them to fluff my pillows or lead by the hand. It wouldn't have allowed me to toughen up. I would've fallen into depression, felt resentment against the whole world, and would be ordering my family to bring me coffee or something else. I want to become independent as soon as possible - the way I was before. That's why I started walking on my own just 20 days after being wounded, and that's why I ask my family not to do anything for me at home. I would fall and bruise myself until I bled, but that's the only way to learn. You hit the threshold a hundred times, but you step over it on the one hundred and first try."

It was the first time Oleksandr had come to the support and rehabilitation camp for veterans who lost their eyesight in the war and their family members, organized by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine. Here, they immediately began his rehabilitation. He was taken to ophthalmologist Yulia Saldan (Associate Professor of Eye Diseases at Vinnytsia Pirohov National Medical University), who arranged with a private clinic to provide Yurchenko and another veteran with eye prostheses free of charge. Permanent ones. Before that, they had temporary prostheses that looked unattractive because they replaced only part of the eye.

"So, I had to wear glasses all the time to avoid scaring people. And these prostheses are as handsome as real eyes. I even have eye pupils, and they've matched my iris color - brown," Oleksandr boasts.

The men were given several practical lessons on how to care for their eye prostheses, including how to remove and clean them twice a day.

"I'm not very good at it now, but I think I'll learn by the end of our session," the veteran says confidently.

He is pleased with the camp team, where each coach and each trainer teaches a new subject.

"These people are trying and investing not only their efforts, but all of themselves. We are learning how to read and write in Braille and how to use a computer. We also have physical exercises and receive massages, and we are practicing taking care of ourselves and doing household chores. I can even peel potatoes, and I think when I come back, I'll cook borsch!"

Oleksandr Yurchenko enjoys the spatial orientation lessons the most. The man has problems with his vestibular system, causing him to sway a little while walking.

"I take my hat off to my teacher Vasyl Hoshovskyi. He comes up with various ways to help me: either walking while holding on to a thread stretched between two poles, or using a "ladder" he invented, where the steps are made of ropes that you have to step on."

Besides the team, he is also interested in other people like him: those who have lost their eyesight completely. How they cope with difficulties on their own, and what helps them - this is the task Oleksandr sets for himself in the coming days.

as part of the project "Crisis in Ukraine: OPD-Led Disability Inclusive Response and Recovery (Phase 2)," implemented by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine with support from the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the Christian Blind Mission (CBM).