Modern prostheses for defender Igor

Ihor Murenets has been in the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2016. Since 2018, he has served in the city of Krasnohorivka, Marinskyі district, Donetsk region. On August 23, 2018, the car driven by Ihor was hit by an enemy anti-tank-guided missile. His colleague died on the spot and he was seriously injured. Military medics saved his wounded arm but his legs, unfortunately, had to be amputated.

The fighter spent 1.5 years in hospitals. After the treatment, he needed complex prosthetics and long-term rehabilitation. However, the professional work of the rehabilitators, the prosthetist and the patient’s unstoppable desire to live a full life allowed Ihor Murenets to get back on his feet.

Then, Ihor returned home to a peaceful life in the village of Borova, Kharkiv region. Gradually he learned to live in new conditions. In 2020, he participated in the “Games of Heroes”. After the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, he was forced to leave his home because hostilities started and then the village was occupied. He moved to the town of Khmilnyk, Vinnytsia region (where he is still now).

Igor dreams of returning to military service. He notes: “Everything is clear and understandable in the army. I always know my task and am aware of all events. That’s where I can be useful, do what I do best, and protect my Motherland”. He clearly understands that, unfortunately, he will no longer be able to perform combat tasks on the front line, but he can be useful in the headquarters or the military commissariat. Now the defender needs the replacement of both hip prostheses for modular type ones with a knee assembly and electronic control. The prosthetics will be carried out by specialists of UkrNDIprosthetics (УкрНДІпротезування) and “Ortsabo-specialized rehabilitation center” ("Ортcабо-спеціалізований центр реабілітації").

The complexity of prosthetics and the need to raise funds is connected with the fact that two hips were amputated. It complicates the process of making plaster casts, fitting, and verticalization and increases the time of learning to use prostheses. The difficulty is also affected by the length of the stump of the right hip which is 10 cm. With such a length of the stump, a technician spends a lot of time making the prosthesis socket to ensure reliable fixation and control of the prosthesis while walking. Also, the prosthetist takes into account that the patient could not perform a full range of motion in the right elbow joint for a long time.

The main goal of the prosthetics is to provide the patient with prostheses that will be able to restore as much as possible the lost functions of the limbs and ensure safety. The prosthetists, considering the amputation of two hips, a short stump on the right side, and incomplete recovery of the functions of the right upper limb, believe that hip prostheses with microprocessor-controlled knee mechanisms can help the patient regain functionality and ensure safety. These knee mechanisms automatically adjust to the speed of walking, enable safe movement on stairs and inclined surfaces, have a safe mode in case the prosthesis is caught by obstacles, have automatic support during standing and reduce the patient’s energy consumption. The patient will be able to feel safer when moving, sitting down/standing up and working with the upper limbs (washing dishes, cooking, servicing a car, etc.).

State funds for such modern prostheses are not enough, additional payment is required. The prosthetics of Ihor Murenets will be carried out in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 518 dated October 1, 2014. Unfortunately, due to the increase in the exchange rate, the maximum price allocated by the state for prosthetics is not enough to cover the full production of prostheses and the purchase of accessories. That is why we are launching a fundraising campaign on dobro.ua, and we need a total of UAH 392,748.

With the collected funds, modern components for prosthetics will be purchased. These funds, together with the funds of the state prosthetics program, will provide the hero with high-quality prostheses and rehabilitation.

We kindly ask you to support this collection and help the real Hero to get modern prostheses and realize his dream!