I stood up and saw my arm was gone: 21-year-old emergency worker recalls second strike on Kharkiv
Oleksandra Shchebilova, a 21-year-old emergency worker, lost her arm during the second Russian attack on the city of Kharkiv on 15 June. She said she was only 10 metres away from her colleagues who were killed at the moment of the strike.
Source: Suspilne Kharkiv, a regional branch of the Ukrainian national public broadcaster Suspilne
Details: Oleksandra says she has received a great deal of support and insists the loss of her limb will not affect her life.
On the night of 14-15 June, Oleksandra and her colleagues arrived at a civilian business that was hit by Russian forces. A few hours later, a repeat attack took place. At that moment, she was about 10 metres from five other emergency workers who were killed in the strike.
Quote from Oleksandra: "We were 400-500 metres from a business and moved to a safe zone. Ihor, my partner, said: 'Sasha, let's lie down.' We lay down and at that very moment a missile exploded near us.
I stood up and saw my arm was gone. I ran out and there was some kind of yellow fog. I ran to the road, where our vehicle was standing by the hydrant. I thought someone would put a tourniquet on me because I couldn't."
More details: Oleksnadra was taken to hospital by the owner of a damaged business, who was at the scene of the attack at the time. She managed to call her father and send him a voice message and the address. She saw her father only after the surgery.
Quote from Oleksandra: "The phone was all covered in blood, but that was nothing serious. The touchpad fingerprint was from my right hand, the one I lost. I started entering the phone passcode with my left hand and barely managed to draw it."
More details: She was admitted to hospital in a serious condition with a severe arm injury. Doctors were unable to save the limb.
Oleksandra's condition is now assessed as stable. She is currently in a general ward and is feeling well. Doctors note that the process of fitting a prosthetic arm will take time.
Quote from chief doctor Ruslan Vrahov: "First, the wound needs to heal and the stump needs to form. Then the process will continue based on medical indications. I believe that within about a month to six weeks, she will receive a fully functional prosthesis that will help her regain the ability to carry out everyday tasks.
From the first minutes of her stay in hospital, she did not lose heart. I think that is also one of the keys to her quick recovery and rehabilitation.
She is looking to the future and has many plans. I believe they will all come to fruition because we have every confidence in Oleksandra. We believe that everything will be all right for her and that she will be able to recover as quickly as possible."
More details: Soft toys, gifts from colleagues, can be seen on her bed. Oleksandra said she has received a great deal of support and does not want the injury to affect her life. She is already planning future hiking trips in the mountains.
Quote from Oleksandra: "I feel fine and I am staying positive. I did not even cry because of my arm. I cried because of how many people wrote to me – because of their support and their messages. I even called relatives, acquaintances and loved ones and told them: don't cry, everything is fine.
I don't feel like I lost an arm. I understand that I need to move forward. I say: thank you that we survived at all and did not die like those guys. We just have to move on. There is no point in crying."
Background:
- On the night of 14-15 June, Russian forces carried out a missile attack on several districts of Kharkiv. Three people were injured and five emergency workers were killed in a repeat strike.
- A few days later, a sixth firefighter who had been injured during Russia's double-tap strike on Kharkiv on 15 June died in hospital.
- A six-year-old girl who came under Russian attack on a playground in Kherson together with her family was discharged from a children's hospital in the city.
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