AFP
Ukrainian amputees learn to walk again with German prosthetics
Vitaliy Saiko, a former soldier who lost his legs during the war in Ukraine, compares his new limbs, made by a Berlin prosthetist, to a sports car. “It’s a custom job. It’s like building a Lamborghini, everything is put together according to the customer’s wishes,” the 42-year-old Ukrainian told AFP. With his brand-new prostheses, he is one of the first patients to benefit from a German care program for Ukrainian amputees. Since the start of the Russian invasion, tens of thousands of people have disappeared and many more have had their lives turned upside down by serious injuries. And in Ukraine, it is often difficult to carry out amputations, estimated at more than 20,000 since February 2022 by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May. “Here (in Germany), we have more knowledge to be able to make a unique prosthesis,” said Janine Von Wolfersdorff of the organization Life Bridge Ukraine, head of Life Bridge Ukraine has so far evacuated nearly 40 amputees to Germany and is hosting six trainees who will then return to Ukraine to put their new skills to good use. – ‘Strange feeling’ – Walking with the prosthetics is “a strange feeling,” admits Vitaliy, but the former soldier is satisfied. “Before, I couldn’t walk at all, I was stuck in a wheelchair,” says the former soldier, who has endured more than 15 operations and months of rehabilitation since losing his legs last year. Now Vitaliy feels “whole again,” three months after arriving in Berlin: “They cut off my wings, but now they’ve grown back.” His new limbs – a pair of sleek metal rods encased in black sneakers – were specially designed for him at the Seeger Medical Center in Berlin. But the veteran is still bothered by his previous operation. Today, there is too little flesh covering the bones of his leg, which is also the case for other amputees. Done quickly, sometimes directly on the front, amputations in Ukraine do not always “optimally” prepare the stump for the fitting of a prosthesis, says Michael Köhler of the Seeger Center. “We therefore have to create a comfortable support to accommodate these bones” inside the prosthesis, describes the specialist. At his workshop in the south of Berlin, he passes on his expertise to Ukrainians who have come to train, such as Anastasiia Tkach. A physiotherapist by training, she learns to test prostheses from false stumps cast in plaster. “Vitaliy is my first Ukrainian patient here … it’s quite exciting,” says the 23-year-old. – “Catastrophic” offer – “As long as the war continues, we will not stop bringing patients here (to Berlin),” promises Janine von Wolfersdorff of Life Bridge Ukraine. After the first phase, a few “occasional” seriously injured people will still be evacuated to Germany, and new apprentices will continue to arrive in the capital. On the other hand, Berlin must gradually hand over to a new prosthetics center in kyiv, supported by the program. Initially, Life Bridge Ukraine will provide it with the necessary equipment and materials. The new center will take up residence underground, in the basement of one of Kiev’s hospitals, because the capital remains under fire from Russian missiles. Thus, the center “will be able to operate even in the event of an air raid alert,” promises Janine von Wolfersdorff. Currently, the supply of prosthetics in Ukraine is “catastrophic,” assures Vitaliy, who spent nine months of rehabilitation in his country. “We do need help,” he says. With his new legs, the former soldier can easily climb stairs, balance on a board or even ride a bicycle – even if he is sweating after the effort. When he returns home, he wants to “be useful on the front in another way.” “I will have plenty of work. We can always find something to do at the rear,” he hopes.sea/kas/ylf
