Throughout July, we have been working almost daily with both the wards in Kherson and those who were taken away. With some of them I treat bedsores and trophic ulcers. With someone, I check the diary of pressure measurements after a stroke. We have bought most of the medicines for the amount of 312 067 UAH (8500.00 USD)

We are delivering medicines, crutches, wheelchairs, colostomy bags, diapers to more than 2000 people. In addition to Kherson, we are closing applications from 5 villages. Of our evacuees:

- Vadym Solianyk is receiving all the necessary treatment and is recovering.

- Oleksandr and Valentyna Zhyvago seem to be happy in their new place. Oleksandr's condition is as stable as possible.

- Olga Samotoy (she is taking care of her parents aged 95 and 94 in Kherson). Her mother has terminal breast cancer. This month Olga found a similar tumor in her breast. We took her to Kyiv to be examined. We are waiting for recommendations from the doctor.  

- Vira and Leonid, whose apartment was hit by a Russian missile last month, live in Truskavets and are being cared for by the family of Tania Atab

In addition to the stories, there are 2 links to videos on Instagram.   

This time we stayed in Kherson for over 2 weeks. On the day of the dam explosion, part of my team left immediately, while I stayed on the phone, calling our patients' database.  We have over 2000 patients now. On the first day, I managed to call 250 of those who could be in the greatest danger.

On June 8th, we evacuated the immobile patients, those who couldn't walk.

The strangest feeling was passing under the trolleybus lines, above almost flooded billboards.

In three days, we managed to get in touch with all the people under our care, found out who needed assistance, and brought them the necessary help. Most of them had moved in with relatives and friends in Kherson.  Almost no one wanted to leave the city or be evacuated further.

Some people asked for help with a blood pressure monitor, a glucometer, or other home medical equipment they couldn't take when they left the flooded area. Others requested clothing or basic household necessities like laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, and toilet paper.

video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuWmt06gb2d/

Vitya, my friend and partner in crime, managed to carry Alexander out from the flooded apartment. I've told you about him before – the man with extensive bedsores. Alexander had his leg amputated due to gangrene.  

We visited him in the surgical ward and found out that many of the evacuees were brought to the surgical wing, and they had nowhere else to go. We tried to support them by bringing food, adult diapers, diapers, and essential dressing and medical supplies for their care.

We delivered medications to over 100 residents of the village of Myroliubivka.

We made addressed deliveries of medications, walkers, crutches, and pet food to the residents of the village of Antonivka.

In every village and in Kherson itself, we support people who take care of animals. Most often, these are small home-based shelters. Those who genuinely care for animals take in neighbor's pets that have been abandoned and feed the stray dogs and cats.  For small animals, we sometimes bring sedatives (similar to those for humans) because they struggle to cope with the shelling, and their hearts cannot handle the stress.

Russians continue to shell Kherson every day. A few days after the dam explosion, a shell hit a residential building, destroying the apartment of Vera and Leonid, whom I had evacuated back in November.

Vera and Leonid are doing fine; they are living in Truskavets with a family that temporarily took them in. Leonid has Parkinson's, and Vera has breast cancer. I support them financially. However, now they have nowhere to return to.

In the village of Sontiachne, we met a wonderful family. Alyona has three children.  The eldest child has intellectual disabilities, while the middle child, Valentina, has been suffering from epilepsy and cerebral palsy since childhood.  The youngest child is typically developing.

When we arrived, it turned out that due to severe dental pain, Valentina couldn't eat, and the pain (unbearable) was triggering new epileptic seizures for her, new and recurrent seizures, causing her to cry out in agony.

It took approximately a week to arrange everything: getting in touch with the dental clinic, coordinating with an anesthesiologist, calculating the sedation dosage considering Valentina's anti-epileptic medications, and finding an ambulance that could transport Valentina in a lying position since she cannot sit.  But we managed to do it, and her dental issues were taken care of. Now, I'm searching for housing and a safe way to relocate them from the village, which is also under shelling.

After the amputation, we brought Alexander to Kyiv. We conducted a medical check-up and stabilized his condition. We found an apartment for him and his wife. Now, we are planning to buy a medical bed so that he can move around more easily.

We also took Vadim Solyanik with us.  Vadim received a shrapnel skull injury during the evacuation. His apartment on the first floor was flooded.

Then Vadym went through a difficult surgery, performed by Kherson surgeons. Vitya had to drive 1,800 km in one day to pick up the car and take Vadym to Kyiv. We were stopped by the police once. A projectile fragment that hit the windshield tried to stop Vitya again . But we reached Kyiv just fine.  In Kyiv, we stabilized Vadym and had him consulted by a neurologist, cardiologist and neurosurgeon.

Vadim can no longer live alone and take care of himself, so he asked to be placed in a nursing home. We found one in Irpin. Now Vadim lives among the pines and is taken care of. He gets all the proper treatment.

In January, we visited Vasyl and Valya. Valya was unwell and had difficulty moving, so we communicated in the bathroom, where she felt safer.

Later, their daughter took Valya with her. Vasyl, who is 80 years old, stayed behind with the garden. He asked us to bring batteries and mineral water. In January, we picked kiwis from the trees. We used to visit Vasyl every time we were in Kherson. In April Vasyl allowed us to cut narcissus flowers and showed us the pomegranate tree and loud beehives.

When the Russians blew up the dam, we couldn't find Vasyl for several days. His neighbor, Rosa, said he was taken to Mykolaiv. 

Later, we found out that Vasyl was in Kherson. We brought him a blood pressure monitor, medications for his blood pressure, and a sedative. He cried because the bees had died, and he couldn't find his cat.

The trees and flowers were destroyed. He said he didn't want to go anywhere: not to his wife, not to his daughter. He only wanted to be home.  After a few days, Vasyl returned home. He walked 12 kilometers through the flooded streets. He found his cat but couldn't carry it out, so the State Emergency Service (DSNS) had to rescue him.

Vasyl asked us to go get his cat. So we went.  In places where the fences were knocked down, it was easier to walk. Everything around was gray. The tops of trees that didn't know they had died were still visible.

We found his cat alive. But Russian shell hit the yard, and the house is no longer there. The mandarin tree is gone. Vasyl says he will continue to go there.  We left money for Vasyl and food for Tuzik. We can't rebuild the house and the garden. He doesn't want anything else.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuua7n9Mejh/ - video about Vasyl 

I went to Kherson for the first time in November, with boxes of medicines, in a randomly found minibus with unknown drivers.

Eugene Shimalsky checked in from time to time whether everything was okay with me on the road.

During a general air raid alarm, I texted “I fastened the safety belts. Look, we’re driving across the river - they won't start shooting at the river, will they?"

When they started shooting at the river and blew up the dam, I was preparing to go to Kherson for the sixth time.

In June, Vitya Glushchenko, Katya Libkind, Nazar Furyk and I multiplied our usual workload with flood management but managed to get everything done.

This time we:

— Created separate lists of people we take care of and who could have suffered from the flood. We found everyone, visited and helped. We keep in touch.

— Evacuated those who wanted to leave the flooded Ostrov district.

— Delivered medicines to about 1000 people according to their requests.

— Collected and handed over basic drugs, bandages, surgical plasters, dressing materials and adult diapers to the communities of Kozatske, Mykilske, Antonivka, Myrolyubivka. For Kozatskе and Mykilske, where there is still no electricity, we provided power banks, flashlights, batteries, and gas burner cylinders.

— Visited people with limited mobility in Zymivnik, Soniachnе, Stepanivka, Komyshany.

— Supported surgical departments of the hospitals - provided diapers, calming drugs for all evacuated people placed in the hospital.

— Barefoot, we crossed the flooded streets to the very river front to rescue the cat Tuzik for our friend Vasyl, who lost everything in the flood.

— Stabilized Vadim Solianik, one of our oldest proteges, after a shrapnel injury and transported him to Kyiv. He asked to be placed in a nursing home. We chose a place that he liked. We now visit him weekly.

— As promised, we transported Oleksandr and Valentyna Zhivago. Oleksandr survived evacuation from the flooded apartment and a limb amputation, underwent examination. Thanks to Olga Gaidash and Irina Gaidash they now have a shelter in Kyiv. We are arranging everything necessary and looking for a rehabilitation therapist.

— We continue to remotely arrange dental treatment for Valentyna. Valentyna has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, she used to scream from pain. But at least this pain we can remove.

We've grown tired and more mature during this time.

We've established connections with the State Emergency Service, quick response services and volunteer initiatives. Now we can find ambulances for long-distance evacuations quickly.

I've formed a team of friendly pharmacists in Kherson who help us process new applications promptly.

We are driving even faster and constantly eat cherries.

I saw roses taller than me and stars worth showing.

Katya Libkind sang along with the siren. Nazar Furyk discreetly took important shots between packing and sorting medicines.

Vitya Glushchenko waltzed on roundabouts while other car drivers looked at us in surprise.

I bought a feathered icon of St. Nicholas and he occasionally looks at me disapprovingly.

We spoke with Eugene Shimalsky late at night in the middle of a completely dark city with the sounds of nearby mortar shelling and didn't get distracted by them.

Here safety belts and body armors do not work, the water is hostile, they shoot the river, sometimes we witness more pain than can be told out loud.

But I am still not scared. Rather, I am beginning to understand more of what can be done. And I still believe that we are doing everything right.

Name                                 # children /  situation Needs                                                 Amount needed

               Zhukova Tetiana               1 child                                                                       Rent, groceries, meds                $200

               Gatilova Natalia               1 child                                                                       Funeral in the family, food          $100

               Tatsiuk Natalia               1 child                                                                       Food, basics     any/unspecified

               Temchiy Kateryna           3 kids                                                                     Food, basics                                     $150

               Stoyko Tetyana                      Elementary school teacher.        Flooded house.                                  $150

               Shishorina Svetlana      3 kids, including a disabled child             Food basics      any/unspecified

               Yevsieieva Vlada 1 Newborn                                               Diapers, infant needs, groceries  $100

               Zgurska Yulia                  1, toddler                                                  Basics and food any/unspecified

               Budkina Iryna               2 kids under 3 years old                             Groceries                                           $100

               Shyshorina Kateryna    2 kids Groceries           any/unspecified

               Reutova Tatyana              Infant and pregnant                                      Food and electricity bill any/unspecified

               Yefimova Tetyana            2 kids                                                                     Groceries in desperate need      $150

               Boroday Natalia 1 child                                                      Food and meds any/unspecified

               Poddubna Iryna 2 kids, one with epilepsy                           Meds and food                                   $100

               Ivan Medvid volunteer Helps transfer cash grants,  Needs medications for new $150

Delivers supplies to soldiers, stabilization point for soldiers

drives for med evacuations in Zmiiv, Kharkiv region

               Ukrainian bank transfer fees                                                                                                                                              $30

Today, Oleksandr and Valentyna were evacuated.  (see video at link below) They were left alone in their apartment building. Oleksandr cannot walk on his own, has a complicated spinal hernia and a number of bedsores, severe chronic pain.   We were partly late, because gangrene had already started on one of his legs, but partly in time, because tomorrow he will be operated on.

Today, Vitya Glushchenko and the rescue team came under Russian fire in the evacuation zone.  But they managed to get Oleksandr to the hospital.  As soon as his condition stabilizes, we plan to take this family to Kyiv and seek neurological and  surgical consultations for them.  

https://www.facebook.com/samoilenko.olena/videos/838289917725881

In Kherson, the State Emergency Service teams, rescuers and volunteers are working in a coordinated manner. The process of rescue, search, persuasion and waiting is complicated. But really, dozens of professional people are organizing around the evacuation.  

Most people, including our disabled and elderly clients, refuse to evacuate. All we can do in such cases is to inform the rescue services about them, talk to them on the phone.

We continue to work in Kherson according to the regular schedule of our trips.  We deliver medicines, crutches, wheelchairs, and diapers for adults.

We are looking for everyone who, according to our database, could be in the flood zone.  We have brought food for animals, water and the obvious necessities. I am also bringing power banks, flashlights, and hygiene kits.  As always, we are identifying needs, making tables, sorting medicines. We will go to the villages (not only to the flooded ones).

Uzbek's car (which I once bought for volunteer trips) is pure cherry beauty, perfection and efficiency. 

We also bought a boat.  

We will stay in Kherson as long as necessary.

As for the needs of our wards:

- money for evacuation, medicines, fuel, diapers and everything we usually buy. The details are in the comments.

- The number of requests for medicines has increased. If you can buy and send the most frequently requested items by Nova Poshta to Kherson, I will provide a list.

- charged power banks and wires with different connectors to them

- hygiene kits. We are helping not only Kherson residents affected by the flooding. We also help our regular wards. These are usually people with limited mobility. Every third application we receive includes washing gels, toothpastes, detergents, and creams for diaper irritation.

- Medicines for people with mental illness. We have a separate list confirmed by prescriptions. It is still difficult to buy medicines in Kherson. Finding prescription drugs in out-of-service public pharmacies is more difficult.  I will also send the list and report back.

Two weeks ago, we went to the Kherson Epicenter to buy diapers for adults, because there was a shortage of them. In February, we went to buy plywood and film when the windows were blown out.

Recently, a memorial to the Kherson terrorist defense was unveiled in the lilac park opposite. On March 1, 2022, forty Kherson residents with assault rifles and Molotov cocktails went up against the Russians in armored vehicles. And all of them died.

I stood at the checkout with an uncomfortable cart and a security guard helped me with falling diapers. He said: "That's 50 hryvnias. No, I'm joking. Come on, you owe me a sandwich."

I was surprised, but said that next time I would definitely get a sandwich. I did.

I still have receipts from this Epicenter.

Dozens of people were waiting in front of ATB in February. One of them asked: "Buy me some dumplings. I'll stop standing here and go home to cook dumplings."

"Buy me some too!" - asked the man next to me. I bought dumplings, apples, oil, canned food and bread. The woman walked me to my car and told me that her passport had been stolen and that it would cost 500 UAH to restore it. She had that neuro-distinguishing glint in her eye that makes us recognize our own everywhere, in any language. I gave her 500 UAH, because that was the bill I had in my pocket.

She replied: "You are a goddess. Water does not age. The universe does not age. And you will never grow old."

I was leaving the Kherson train station when I did not have a nice car, but I had more hope. Back then, I hadn't washed my hair for a week, and I was carrying backpacks and a bag with the adjika and garlic I had received as a gift. The Kyiv train stood on the platforms for half an hour.

In February, when it was still early and the curfew started at 7, we were traveling through an empty city. With its wide roads. With crossing signs that popped up like Lynch's characters.

Today, the Russians killed 21 people in Kherson.

We will return to Kherson.

I have plans to rescue Oleksandr and Valentina. I want to see Kristina and Lera. We have to visit Clarinda. The paralyzed sailor's wife is waiting to start cooking chebureks for a garlanded garden party. That is, if she has no fitness. On Komkova 94, the curbs are freshly painted yellow.

Behind all the photos today, there are those who stay to feed the cats, soothe the babies, work in surgery, wait for the pharmacies to open, lie down because they can't get up anymore.

Who do we help in Kherson?

Ms. Oksana from Oleshkivska Street. She hasn't been walking for a long time and has no teeth, so she can only eat mashed potatoes and baby formula. But she has kept her mind, humor and intelligence. When we arrived, she was watching something  on her laptop and smiling with the understanding of a person who knows she is pitied but does not relay on that pity.

Pelagia Davydivna. She is 75 years old and has a disability after a skull fracture. She lives alone on the 4th floor, does not go out, but calls us from the window. She says it's a pity we didn't bring "some ointment for her legs, because her veins hurt a lot". In February, I will thoroughly find out what is wrong with her legs.

Natalia's. She lives in a huge house with a rose garden, perennials and three cats. In her bathroom, there are remnants of Chanel Chance in a bottle and cuticle oil.

Kherson has such a climate that there is no point in switching to Channel, for example, 19, which is more powdery and dense, even in winter.

A shell hit the house opposite. The house a little further away burned down. Natalia's husband used to be a sailor, but he has been in bed with severe Parkinson's for 10 years. And she takes care of him, takes care of all the cats that survived around her, the snowdrops, the fig trees. She paints her lips and goes to a fitness center that has just opened in a neighboring basement.  There are arrivals in their neighborhood every day. Natalia asks me to bring diapers for her husband and cyclodextrin, because it is the only thing that relieves the terrible tremors. I promised her and I will keep my promise.

Ms. Alyona, who is HIV-positive, has the necessary therapy but needs supportive medications.

Anna Mykolayivna with a pustular inflammation of the legs.  On my next trip, I plan to spend a lot of time with her because she has bad symptoms and wounds that have not healed for a long time. I will persuade her to see a doctor. I will talk to her children about evacuation.

Ms. Nadiya, who developed paresis on the right side of her body after a hip replacement. She lives alone, it is extremely difficult for her to walk. Therefore, we need to bring walkers and comfortable canes.

Pavlo, who is left alone on the Island. His wife was persuaded to leave by her daughter. He asks us to help him assemble a chimney for a stove. He treats us to kiwis that grow right in the yard.

Several families who live on the street near the water in the Naftogavan area. They are shelled every day. The light is disappearing. Some people are constantly hiding in the cellar, some have decided not to hide anymore. Each yard has its own access to the water, to the Dnipro lakes. They catch fish for the cats there.  They calm the chickens. They take in neighbors whose houses were hit. Almost no one goes to these areas now. Dogs sleep in the middle of the roads in sunny spots. The trolleybus lines are torn up, and you have to maneuver to get under them.

Natalia Andriyivna. She emphasizes that "adult diapers of size 3 are needed, not underpants, because MOM is paralyzed!"

Oksana, who has 5 children. She writes in the application: "A large family, temporarily unemployed because of the war."

Clarinda Vasylivna, who is crying, asks me if the smell of urine in the house is strong, wants to give me a bottle of cognac, and her husband says that they are all drunk. She writes poetry, and I'll tell you about it later and post it separately. But there are also stories about her childhood:  "My childhood in Bukovyna was spent among the Hutsuls, the fighters, and children of at least five different nationalities in our street band. And we were never beaten for our nation, but for revealing our intentions to break into the baron's garden, or for lying, or for cowardice (leaving others in danger)!"   

Here, Clarinda defines all my stiffeners in one sentence. Do not betray your own at any cost, do not lie, do not be afraid.

In Doctor Who, I loved the episode about the bombing of London (with Christopher Ackleston).  At the end, he treated the crowd with gold dust and shouted: "everybody lives!"

Today, the Russians shelled Komyshany and killed a twenty-four-year-old woman.  Last time I went to spend the night in Komyshany because it seemed safer there.

I would like to ask you for money in a way that is not tricky.

Yes, we will not save everyone.  So most of these medicines are long-term drugs.  They help to live a better quality of life, relieve pain, soothe, and allow you to quickly cure a cold or inflammation, and keep diabetes in check.

Yes, you can avoid taking blankets to old people and give out 10 diapers a month instead of a package, as large humanitarian foundations do.

Yes, many of my clients will die in the next 6 months. They will write that it was due to natural causes.  But they are not natural.

It's war, insensitivity, indifference, loneliness, vulnerability. 

If you can, please help me to argue with this a little bit where I really know how.

I will gladly accept help in any way: repost, money, medicine, adult diapers, fuel coupons, fuel, a good playlist for the road.

PayPal: samolena.help@gmail.com

Hello! I’m back with a report about my Kherson trip.

I stayed there for a week from 17 to 24 December.

Thanks to your donations and the help of my friends, we brought a full truckload of medicines, warm blankets, rubber heating pads, adult diapers and hygiene kits for families with children to the city.

While we were driving to Kherson, Andrey (a volunteer from my team) called me and said that a shell had hit near the house where we had a warehouse (and where his family lived)

All the glass flew out from the sound wave of the explosion. Due to the fact that I had money on my paypal balance, I was able to buy plywood, nails, construction staplers and other stuff. And immediately upon arrival, we began to clog the windows in the building. At that time, 6 families remained there (4 children, 5 adults with limited mobility).

We covered all the windows, stabilized the temperature in the medical rooms and reinforced the doors/doorways in the basements where everyone gathers during shelling.

Next week, this building and neighboring houses were shelled three more times. One of the shells damaged the rooms where Andrei's family lived, so in parallel we also started the evacuation.

In order to save everything that was left in the warehouse, we distributed and delivered everything in an accelerated mode.

On December 18, a holiday for children was held on one of the city squares, where St. Nicholas (the Ukrainian analogue of Santa) gave gifts to children. There we distributed 230 gifts of sweets and fruits and about 500 packages of baby puree and biscuits.

On December 18, I went to the village of Skhidne (translates as “Eastern”) - this is one of the remote villages in the region. On the day I arrived, the electricity was turned on for the first time in nine months.

We brought medicines to this village. All night long, I and a local resident (formerly a nurse) packed medicines according to the individual requests and prescriptions of the residents.

Due to the nature of war and shortages, targeted packages “work” more effectively, because people who haven’t seen much help can be embittered. Periodically, locals can argue, sometimes even fight for medicines.

On December 19, in Skhidne, in 3 hours, I gave about 100 personal kits with medicines (with different composition - from oncological to anti-cold)

There is no hospital there now and there is nothing like it. The only doctor left at the beginning of the occupation. Therefore, I visited local people with limited mobility who needed help with injections, measuring sugar levels, adjusting doses of drugs or replacing them with analogues.

We distributed warm blankets to those in need. For families with children - already traditionally - gifts, sweets, washing powders, sets for drawing and studying.

On December 19, in the afternoon, I returned to Kherson and we drove to 5 more addresses where people who cannot leave the house live (a semi-paralyzed woman, a woman with Parkinson's disease and her husband after a stroke, a man who had meningitis, etc)

They also received targeted medicines and personal gifts that my Kyiv friends had collected. These were small packets of sweets (for people with diabetes - separate products with fructose or a low glycemic index), socks, tea, delicious canned food and small letters where people wrote about how we live in Kyiv, wishing for warmth, light and a speedy victory.

Also brought disposable diapers, care products for bedridden patients, antiseptics.

On December 20, I gave away most of the medical warehouse:

• 147 packs of antithrombotic drugs

• 30 packs of insulin, syringes and pen needles

• about 120 packages (did not count exactly, but there were two boxes) of thyroid drugs (l-thyroxine)

• 58 packs of diapers

• about 50 soothing drops

At the same time, Kherson was heavily shelled and a couple of people in line had panic attacks. One of the women fell and lost consciousness. We called an ambulance. While they were arriving (slowly) I marked the disappearing path and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The woman was brought to her senses.

On December 21, I also visited the wards in the city.

The 22nd we were transporting several boxes of women's pads and urological pads to the nearby village (Kamyshany). We also brought 20 packs of baby diapers and 43 packs of baby food there.

On the 23rd, I helped evacuation teams to evacuate several of my disabled patients.

Now I am preparing a new trip in January. Thanks to your donations and help (constant!) I have already bought adult diapers for the amount of UAH 31,000, warm blankets and heating pads.

Yesterday I received requests from two villages with a large list of medicines.

I am starting to collect, buy out medicines, and one of these days I will start sorting them into targeted sets.

At the moment, 89 people in Kherson and about 500 in the villages are waiting for my help.

First of all, the request is for medical assistance. Food shortages are closed by many volunteers, supermarkets are opening in the city, which operate even under shelling.

Novaya Pochta is functioning - a large Ukrainian delivery team.

There is almost no mobile connection in the city. It happens that you walk several kilometers, but you can’t even catch EDGE.

Many districts are almost without electricity.

The city is shelled about 30-40 times a day. Different areas, different types of artillery weapons. Huge amount of destruction. On December 24, 10 people were killed and more than 50 were injured due to the massive shelling of the central market.

Kherson Blood Center invites donors daily. I managed to donate blood this time.

A lot of local residents stand in line and are ready to donate blood all the time. Permanent lists of donors are being created, including platelet donors (which is very important in some cases).

I continue my trips, looking for people in Kherson, who help with distributions or collect information about those who need help.

I sincerely thank you for your support, encouraging messages, warmth and sensitivity.

This is actually a huge help.

Separately, I am very grateful to Yuri for his help and useful contacts.

And I am glad to meet such beautiful hearts in such a difficult time.