14-year-old girl from Ternopil takes first steps after Russian missile strike
Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Anastasiia Tsiapalo, who was injured in a Russian missile strike on Ternopil, has taken her first steps since being injured. The girl has been undergoing treatment for two months.
Source: St Nicholas Children's Hospital in Lviv
Details: On the morning of 19 November, when the attack occurred, Nastia and her family were preparing to go to a shelter. However, they did not manage to reach it, as a missile struck their apartment block.
"A wave of fire and smoke rushed towards me. It was very hard to breathe. My mother fainted in my arms. Later I learned that she and my grandfather had been killed," Anastasiia said.
The girl sustained deep burns to 15% of her body as a result of the attack. Her airways, neck, face, eyes, arms and left leg were affected. In a critical condition, she was placed in a medically induced coma to allow doctors to change dressings. She regained consciousness only on the third day after the strike.
She was transferred for treatment to Lviv, to the intensive care and anaesthesiology unit. The teenager was given pain relief every four hours, and all dressings were changed under anaesthesia.
Doctors also performed a tracheostomy – creating an opening in the front of the trachea – to support her breathing using a ventilator.
After her condition stabilised, she underwent prolonged treatment for burns. In particular, surgeons removed dead tissue and transplanted her own skin to the affected areas.
Due to the severity of her injuries, Nastia spent a long time relearning how to walk and regaining everyday skills.
She has now managed to take her first steps. The girl says she dreams of returning to basketball, which she had played for four years.
Nastia is also being supported by her grandmother, who was saved by doctors in Ternopil. After discharge, they plan to return to Ternopil, but their flat was completely destroyed.
Background: As a result of the Russian strike on Ternopil on 19 November, 38 people were killed, including eight children.
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