Through the many horrors of 10 months of war in Ukraine, a 15-year-old Ukrainian teenager was able to be treated in Montreal, at the Shriners Hospital, after major foot surgery that could have left him disabled.
Since last July, Yaroslav has been in a rehabilitation program at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal. The 15-year-old has come a long way.
As Russian missiles began raining down on the city and hospital of Kharkiv last February, Yaroslav was hospitalized, having just undergone surgery on his feet to allow him to walk better. He has cerebral palsy.
“There was a lot of noise around me,” the youngster said. “I didn’t understand what was going on.”
He’ll never forget the roar of the bombs
The teenager couldn’t walk in his casts, so Good Samaritans and his mother transported him to a shelter where they stayed for two weeks with some food and water.
Her father, who had remained in Odessa, managed to find her a wheelchair and bring it to her. The three then returned to Odessa aboard a humanitarian convoy.
“The Russian bombings and planes were [si] nearby that the train was vibrating a little bit,” explained Yaroslav.
Back in Odessa, they picked up some personal belongings and, after a 29-hour wait, crossed the border which took them to Moldova, where they were welcomed by Tatiana’s sister-in-law, who then took them in their arrival in Montreal last April.
Tatiana, herself of Ukrainian origin, and her husband have so far welcomed about twenty Ukrainians.
“Yaroslav’s mother told me, ‘Tatiana, even when we were in Moldova, I didn’t sleep at night. Only here, in Quebec, I was able to fall asleep.'”
Two days after his arrival, Yaroslav was taken care of by Dr. Thierry Benaroch, chief physician at the Montreal Shriners Hospital.
“In Ukraine, they fixed his flat feet by cutting the bone inside, bringing the foot inwards and reinforcing the inner side to maintain the arch of the foot,” explained Dr Benaroch.
Because of the war, the teenager kept his casts too long, but the work of the doctor will allow Yaroslav to walk normally.
“It really touched my heart and I’m very happy that the operation was done well there,” said the doctor.
Yaroslav’s adaptation is almost complete. He now hopes to continue his life in Quebec with his parents and learn French.