Tina progettò di ritirarsi ma andò invece in guerra: serviva nei punti più caldi, assistendo a un incredibile coraggio e dolore straziante.

Tina worked as a medic for 30 years and was about to retire, but instead she decided to join the army.

“I didn’t hesitate. I went to the recruitment office. At first, they wanted to turn me away. But when they found out I was a medic and wanted to work in my field—since I had experience working without a doctor in ambulances and as a surgical nurse—they changed their minds. I immediately told them I wasn’t afraid of blood, nothing could scare me, and I could do everything needed to save lives.

They asked me, “Medics are needed in Volnovakha, will you go?” I said yes. 

We worked under fire and there were no easy cases. Sometimes we barely had time to get out of the vehicle before new wounded arrived.

Sometimes, soldiers would be loaded into our ambulance as “lightly wounded.” But later, it turned out they had life-threatening injuries—like a ruptured brain vessel from blast trauma or internal bleeding that only became apparent once we started moving. If a tourniquet hadn’t been applied correctly, or if a blood vessel relaxed due to the vibration of the vehicle, they could start bleeding out on the way.

One time, we were evacuating a large number of wounded in an armored vehicle. Our driver was a real hero. We had just left the evacuation point when a mine hit nearby. The blast lifted the entire vehicle—carrying 16 wounded soldiers and medics—45 degrees into the air, damaging one side. Just as we regained control, a truck came straight at us. There was no way to turn right, so the driver swerved left. Inside, imagine the state of the wounded—already concussed and injured—now suddenly flung into the air, blind to what was happening.

We managed to drive a few more kilometers before transferring the wounded to another vehicle. 

Many soldiers pass out in trenches after blasts, and sometimes they’re mistakenly reported as dead—only to regain consciousness and scream for help from under the rubble.

One soldier was buried for 20 minutes. He survived because he instinctively crouched and covered his face with his hands, creating a small air pocket. He was barely breathing by the time rescuers dug to his head, but he managed to shout, “I’m alive.”

One soldier was trapped behind enemy lines. His entire unit was killed. He crawled through fields and tree lines for five days, losing consciousness multiple times. His scalp was torn open, exposing the bone, but his skull wasn’t penetrated. His leg was broken, and he was beaten so badly he couldn’t walk. He crawled for five days, drinking from puddles.

When we finally rescued him, he asked to call his wife. He was young and handsome. As we hooked him up to IVs, he called her and said, “It’s me. I’m okay. They’re taking me to the hospital. I still have my arms and legs.” And as he spoke, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

One of the hardest thing was not seeing my grandson. He is only three. I missed his birthday, his first words, his first moments.

But I know why I’m here. Every life we save is worth it. And as long as I can, I will continue saving them.

Source:

[https://suspilne.media/donbas/533077-zbiralasa-na-pensiu-natomist-pisla-na-vijnu-bojova-medikina-tina-pro-vijnu-i-poratunok-poranenih/](https://suspilne.media/donbas/533077-zbiralasa-na-pensiu-natomist-pisla-na-vijnu-bojova-medikina-tina-pro-vijnu-i-poratunok-poranenih/)

Extraordinary human being! The world is a much better place with people like you.

Thank you for posting this. Many in the UK do not understand the trauma of warfare or its intense mental and physical burden on both the warriors and the support staff. Thank you for your and your colleagues efforts.

Bless you!

🇺🇦Слава Україні 🇺🇦
Sláva Ukraíni!
Heroyam Slava!
🙏🏽 🇺🇦 💙💛