The girl remembered how she and her mother came under fire.

13-year-old Sofia Ivanova from Mykolayiv region was hit in the head by a shell fragment when the Russian military fired on her house. The girl fainted several times and was taken to the hospital under fire. Sofia survived, but if the wreckage stopped at least an inch above or below – she could die, doctors say.

Every day Sofia works with a rehabilitation specialist. Due to the impact of a shell fragment in the head, she can hardly feel her right arm and leg.

In early March, her house was shelled by the Russian military. It happened at noon, when the girl and her mother taped the windows. They tried to protect their home from Russian missiles and shells, but failed.

«Mom heard and said: “Run, Sofia!". I ran, took three steps and the projectile flew»

– remembers the girl.

«I felt a blow, but no pain. Blood flowed and at the same time I see that Sofia is flying forward like that. Explosions and Sofia flies away, falls"
“I just saw that she was moaning and flying from above, I lay down on her. We moved her to a safer place because we were afraid that what had flown into the house might still explode.»

– remembers Sofia’s mother.

Under fire Sofia was taken to the Nikolaev hospital. She was operated on there. But they could not remove the fragment itself, because they did not have such equipment.

At that time, Sofia only dreamed of having an operation as soon as possible and the pain would finally stop. The other day she was transported to Kyiv. And already here doctors of “Okhmatdyt" got a fragment of the Russian shell from its head.

The fragment passed through the temple and stopped between the cerebral hemispheres.

«A little further down are the arteries that supply blood to the brain. A little top – bleeding from the brain, it’s a disaster»

– say doctors

It was one of the most complicated operations.

«If we hadn’t removed it, she would have suffered from a constant headache. The other is the risk of inflammation. Inflammation can cause damage to blood vessels, which can cause bleeding, and death of the child»

– says Pavlo Plavskyi, head of the Okhmatdyt Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery

And now Sofia can dream again of what she would have done when she was 13 years old. “I dream of a black guitar with seven strings," – says the girl

Neither she nor her mother yet know how damaged their home is. Only some fragments are remembered from that day. But the family is sure that everything will be fine. And Sofia is gradually learning to squeeze another hand again.

«You are getting better and better»

– say rehabilitation specialists