The appointment is February 23, 2022. Inside the Kyiv Children’s Hospital everything is as usual. Operations are going as planned, parents come to the hospital with their children, doctors and surgeons have time to receive everyone who needs help.
For several weeks there has been talk of a possible invasion of Ukraine, but few believe that it will become a reality.
Pictures that shook the world
February 24 criticizes. The hospital moved from a state of normal alert to a focus for the wounded. Doctors’ jobs and lives were completely turned upside down.
– Of course there was a lot of talk about it, but no one thought it would happen.
Pavlo Blavsky is a trained neurosurgeon and head of his department at the hospital – a role he takes very seriously.
Operation: Pavlo Blavsky during an operation in late April. Photo: Ahmetdet Hospital
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heartbreaking story
Via a video link from his office inside the hospital, Plavskyi talks to Dagbladet about the way he has lived the past few months – a period marked by strong impressions and sleepless nights.
– When the situation was at its worst, we opened the emergency room for two days. We made two operating rooms, and everyone who was injured was sent there.
At first, they only give priority to children. But the wounded who entered were many. In the end, they realized that they had to provide help to everyone who needed it – both adults and children.
Number of Operations: Doctors at the Children’s Hospital in Kyiv have no figures for the number of operations they have performed since the outbreak of the war. Photo: Ahmetdet Hospital
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When asked if there were any special events that he remembered well, he suddenly weighed.
During war, we have to make tough decisions. We must constantly assess who is most affected and who we should operate on first.
He stops and takes a deep breath.
– We brought in a little boy who was seriously injured. In peacetime, we would operate on the baby, but we had limited equipment that could help him. Outside the hospital there was constant bombing and we had to evacuate more people to the basement. He says we had to let the child die.
– How is it tested?
– Terrible. It is very difficult to make such decisions.
Medal awarded: Pavlo Blavsky received a medal from Volodymyr Zelensky himself for his work at the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine in Kyiv. Photo: Ahmetdet Hospital
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surprised by the boss
Due to the large workload, he has now moved to the hospital. His family was safely evacuated to Germany, while he himself settled inside the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine.
The hospital’s efforts have really paid off observed. On April 26, Blavsky was in the operating room in the middle of the operation when he received a phone call. There he was told to go down to the reception.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is waiting. President who has become on several occasions He praised his leadership style during the warhanded a medal to many doctors in the hospital, including Plavskyi.
Obviously, he himself does not think he deserves a medal “for doing his job,” he says.
After receiving the medal I ran straight and continued the process for another three hours. When I came home in the evening, I mostly thought of the child I had operated on, and not the medal I received from Zelensky.
continue:
The medal is not only mine. It’s for the whole team. All doctors, all specialists. We will continue to do our best to save as many as possible.
Color: Photograph of the Children’s Hospital in Kyiv before the outbreak of the war. Photo: Ahmetdet Hospital
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Fear of new attacks
Throughout the war, thousands of civilians were killed by Russian forces. When asked if he feared the hospital would be a target for the Russians, he replied:
– I really hope not. They seem to be trying to destroy strategic targets and infrastructure, so I don’t think they are so ruthless that they attack a children’s hospital.
– It’s totally good to see
In several cases, they had bullet holes in the windows and witnessed fierce battles near the hospital, he said.
– We will stay here if there is a new wave of attacks. Everyone should get the help they need.
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