Helping defenders suffering from pain
Ukraine's defenders, who were seriously injured on the battlefield, face unbearable pain on a daily basis. They experience phantom pain from the loss of limbs, acute pain from injuries and chronic suffering after lengthy surgeries. To alleviate this pain and give them a chance for a life without suffering, the Invincible Charitable Foundation together with the dobro.ua charity platform are launching a new project called Heroes Without Pain.
Among those who can benefit from this project is 24-year-old Maksym Zhadanov from Vinnytsia region, who lost his arm and leg while defending Ukraine near Avdiivka. For more than six months now, Maksym has been forced to take painkillers three times a day and still experiences phantom and chronic pain. His story is just one of thousands of similar stories that are heard within the walls of the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Centre.
‘It was very hard at first, I had severe pain, I couldn't sleep at all. Two to four hours a night. I just endured it and that was it! When my limbs were torn off, I thought that the pain was the worst, but I was wrong,’ says Maksym Zhadanov.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Centre has helped 18,000 Ukrainians affected by the war, both military and civilians. Treatment for many of them lasts for months and requires constant pain management. According to statistics, 70% of veterans suffer from chronic pain syndrome after being wounded.
Injured Ukrainian defenders and civilians need pain treatment centres - a specialised medical unit to diagnose, treat and control various types of pain, such as acute, chronic and war-related pain.
‘Heroes without Pain’ is a project aimed at establishing pain treatment centres in three medical institutions in Lviv: St Panteleimon, St Luke and St Mykolaiv hospitals, where the UNBROKEN Centre operates. These specialised units will be provided with modern equipment necessary for interventional pain management procedures. The techniques to be used by the doctors include nerve blockade, pulsatile radiofrequency therapy (PRF), epidural injections and other innovative procedures.
The project will reduce the physical suffering of our soldiers and civilians affected by the war and help them return to a full life without dependence on painkillers that can cause addiction.
