Since 2010, Andriy served in the Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, and the Internal Affairs bodies of Ukraine. He encountered a full-scale invasion while serving as a senior inspector for arms circulation. In February 2023, he volunteered in the assault unit of the newly formed "Safari" regiment.
Fought in the Bakhmut direction. Has the Silver Cross award from Valery Zaluzhnyi for successfully planning and realizing tasks while managing personnel in battle.
He was wounded twice near the village of Kordyumivka, Bakhmut district, Donetsk region. The last one, on October 20, 2023, was serious even by the qualifications of injuries: one fragment passed through the eye, stuck in the skull, where it is now; one is in the left shoulder and is still in the body; two - in the right leg; another fragment passed through the neck to the thoracic spine, fracturing the 2nd and 3rd vertebrae, damaging the dura mater. It was this fragment that caused the paralysis of the lower part of the body. It was expertly removed from the spinal canal by neurosurgeon D.V. Ovcharenko. in the Mechnikov Dnipro Hospital.
The first three months after the injury were very difficult both physically and psychologically. However, the struggle continues and the thirst for life motivates recovery. There are treatment results, rehabilitators' work, and Andriy's own efforts. During 7 months of treatment and rehabilitation, barely noticeable sensitivity appeared in the legs and muscles. The strength in the injured hand was restored.
Rehabilitation continues. At home, his wife and two sons are waiting for the defender of Ukraine. In the spring, Andriy spent a month in Latvia. Now the doctors of the rehabilitation center in Odesa assure that Andriy, having an incomplete fracture of the spinal cord, has every chance to return to walking and functional autonomy. This requires a lot of work, time and money. The estimated cost of rehabilitation is 80,000 UAH per month.
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