Every day, Hospitallers drive to the hottest spots in Ukraine to deliver first aid to civilians and defenders. Every day, they overcome a distance of hundreds of kilometers to bring the wounded to a conditionally safe area and go back under fire to save the remaining injured people.
Irina, who used to be a movie director until recently, and is now known as “Cheka”, often performs casevacs as part of her mission in the Hospitallers team. For her, casualty evacuations are about:
- “Taking the wounded away from the battlefield under artillery fire”
- "Helping and giving all your love and support to the wounded in order to somehow alleviate the pain that gets worse since they are being transported in challenging conditions on a rough track"
- "Evacuating defenders through a path that only the L200 pickup truck can conquer"
- "Handing the defenders over to a safer area, exhaling for a moment, and returning to hell to save others"
- "Feeling incredibly grateful to the crew who keeps you alive"
- "Blood and swamp covering the gear, clothes, hair, hands, shoes"
- "Finding bruises and hematomas on most of your body parts"
- "Trying to clean up the truck from the blood mixed with dirt that is stuck to the rusty parts of the vehicle"
“I wish you would never read this post. I wish my mother didn’t have to cry while talking to me. I wish I would have an empty notebook without the names of the wounded written there. And I wish I could carry on with my cool life of a civilian” Irina shares in one of her social media posts.
Hospitallers have no fear – difficulties do not stop them from continuing to save lives every minute. At this time, we are finding vital medicines, medical equipment, pickup trucks, and ambulances for them. We continue helping and supporting Hospitallers so that they could keep on with their life-saving mission at the frontlines. Together we are stronger!
Comments