We continue the series of interviews with our fellow doctors, in which we talk about how their lives have changed since the start of the full-scale war. These stories deserve your attention and respect.

This time we had a short conversation with a doctor who stayed to live and work in the temporarily occupied territories. His name and photo will not be released for security reasons. When Ukraine wins, we will gladly «open all the cards».

– Please tell us about what your life was like before February 24 and how it changed after the start of a full-scale war?

I have been working as a pediatrician for many years, but recently in Ukraine my position received a new name – family doctor. Since I live and work in a small town, there has always been enough work. I knew all my patients by face, became friends with many. In general, life was calm, but after the start of a full-scale war, everything changed. Almost immediately, our town came under occupation. There was very fierce fighting nearby, so we heard and saw everything.

The hospital I work in has become a place that saves lives. At the beginning of the war, electricity, gas and centralized water supply disappeared from us, as well as from many residents of settlements around which battles were fought. But thanks to the “covid" troubles, our hospital has its own generator. This is what gave us a huge help. Many people were hiding in our basements from fear of war. We had water because we were able to hook up a pump that pumped it from a well, some heat and light. In such “spartan" conditions, we even gave birth! Since the beginning of the war, 7 little children have appeared within our walls. It is also interesting that before the war there was no maternity ward in our hospital, so we remembered our old skills and knowledge. Electricity and water supply have already been restored (ed. we are talking about mid-June 2022), but there is still no gas. Well, nothing, we are adapting to life in new realities.

Evacuation convoys passed through our settlement. Many buses have left, probably since the end of March. Until then, there were only single people who tried to leave in their own vehicles at great risk. We took turns helping people who were injured. Then there was a lot of work, about 100-150 people every day. There were even weeks when I did not leave my own workplace for 5 days.

– How many people left your town and why did you stay?

Some of my neighbors, maybe a third, left almost immediately, but my family and I decided to stay. I have a paralyzed mother and a huge number of patients that I simply could not leave.

– What is your current situation with medical drugs and other things necessary for work?

The first time, when all pharmacies were closed, it was quite difficult, but we survived on our own supplies and home first-aid kits of our fellow villagers. Collected, as they say, “Every little counts." There were problems with baby food and thyroid hormones, but there was enough insulin, because before the war, our hospital had good reserves. Now the situation has stabilized a little, but the consequences of the war are still felt.

– Tell us what problems patients came to you with after the start of a full-scale war?

Well, of course, in addition to injuries received as a result of hostilities, we had quite a lot of patients with bronchial asthma, heart attacks and strokes. If the patient's condition was satisfactory, we managed to help him, but if there were serious cases, unfortunately, without the necessary medicines, equipment and specialists, we lost some people.

Then we encountered mass poisonings. We received a huge number of children who, due to contaminated water and unsanitary conditions, generally got serious diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders.

There are also quite a few people who have literally lost their common sense due to stress. I knew many of these people before, they were adequate, but after the bombings they changed. Some do not come out of the cellars and panic at the slightest noise, some have simply lost touch with reality. The problem of increasing the number of mental disorders really exists and it is very alarming.

Also, a significant number of people, leaving their homes, lose their medical records. Many of them have serious chronic cardio-diseases, so I believe that their supervision should be at a high level. It would be very good if we used screening methods of diagnosis more often, we could save many lives.

I hope that soon Ukraine will win and our village will return to its full pre-war peaceful life!

The team of the Ukrainian Association of Ambulatory Physicians Doctors is grateful to our colleague for this conversation. Thank you for your dedicated work and we hope that the cynical war that is taking hundreds of lives will end soon. And we continue to work on a cycle of similar conversations with our colleagues so that as many people as possible learn about their routine heroism. Updates will follow.