Let's restore the face of the defender

Yurii volunteered for the army to protect children from war. After a serious injury, his face is disfigured, he has lost the ability to breathe normally. To return to his children and a decent life, he needs an individual implant. Let's help the hero hug his children again without fear that they will be scared of his face.

"My name is Yurii Matiash. I’m from Kyiv. I’m 38 years old. In peaceful times, I worked for ten years as an electrical installer on construction sites. I loved coming home tired, but with the sense of a job well done. My beloved wife, daughter, and son were always waiting for me. They are my home front, my strength, my life.

In 2024, I volunteered to join an air assault brigade — because someone had to stand between our children and the enemy. I couldn’t do otherwise.

On February 1, 2025, we were carrying out a combat mission near the village of Cherkaska Porechna in the Kursk region. Everything changed in an instant. An enemy kamikaze drone — the sound, the explosion, the darkness.

I sustained a severe blast injury. The bones in my face were shattered. Shrapnel crushed my nose, jaw, eye socket, and part of my skull. A metal fragment remains lodged in my head. I lost sight in my right eye. My arm, thigh, and shins were injured. A concussion. I was lucky to survive. But every day since has been a battle.

I’ve already undergone several complex surgeries. But to return to a normal life, I urgently need a custom orbital-nasal implant. Without it, full facial reconstruction is impossible: the bones are so severely damaged that no standard implant will work. Only a model designed specifically for my anatomy, 3D-printed and secured with fixation screws, can help. This is a chance not only to restore my appearance but also to regain vital functions: breathing, chewing, facial expressions. A chance to hug my children again without the fear that they might be frightened by my face.

The cost is high. So I must ask for help. It’s important to me to complete this journey — to recover and return to a full life" - Yurii notes.