A bionic prosthesis for a brave Ukrainian

From ship to war! A sailor who spent a third of his life sailing joined the country's defense as soon as the enemy occupied his hometown. A year and a half later, an enemy shell blew off the defender's arm. After restoration and receiving a bionic prosthesis at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center, the soldier returned to the front. 

The man is 31 years old. Due to certain circumstances, the man does not disclose his name and surname. His call sign is "Sailor". Before the start of the great war, he was a long-distance navigator. For more than 10 years, he managed to see the whole world. The war caught him in Mykolaiv. His ship was about to enter the city's port to load goods for export, but it never set sail – the war broke out.

The defender first enlisted in the territorial defense forces of Mykolaiv, and later joined the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was seriously wounded in late August 2023 while performing a combat mission near Andriivka, Bakhmut direction. At that time, he and his comrades were moving to their positions. The enemy started an artillery attack. A shell hit our defenders' vehicle directly. A piece of ammunition completely cut off the soldier's arm. In a number of hospitals, his condition was stabilized and he underwent primary surgery to form a stump.

For further treatment and prosthetics, the fighter was sent to Lviv, to the UNBROKEN Center. Even then he said he wanted to return to the front. So after the wounds healed, the multidisciplinary team decided to fit the defender with the most functional artificial limb possible. The fighter was able to receive a bionic prosthetic arm thanks to a joint project of the UNBROKEN Center and the dobro.ua charity platform, Prostheses for the UNBROKEN. Fundraising for bionic arms for the defenders continues. 

After 4 months of rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center, the fighter has fully recovered and returned to duty. He said: "It's good to be alive. Now I have an iron hand and have returned to my comrades because I can."

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