Larysa Zariczniak, Kyiv.
On 7 May 2015, the prosthetics project endorsed by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Toronto), the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, Euromaidan Canada, a “ProsthetiKa” non-profit corporation and the World Rehabilitation Fund completed their two-week medical mission in Kyiv. The international team of prosthetics specialists worked with Ukrainian specialists at the Ukrainian “Ortho Tech Service” clinic and the Pidmoga.info NGO.
Antonina Kumka, the representative of Euromaidan Canada stated that this project is very important for Ukraine as it not only continues to show Canada’s role in aiding Ukraine but also helps Ukraine develop its own prosthetic industry. This is based on the fact that sending patients outside of Ukraine for their treatment is not only expensive but also ineffective.
This fact was also echoed by Jon Batzdorff, the president of ProsthetiKa, the non-profit corporation that is working with Ukrainian specialists to teach and pass on their expertise. Batzdorff added that because a prosthetic needs constant adjustment and management, it is far too costly for a patient to leave Ukraine to get treatment. And it is because of this that a local Ukrainian prosthetic industry is important.
Batzdorff stated that if a patient is fitted with uncomfortable technology, even if it is the best and most expensive, it still will not allow the patient to get back to normal. This two week seminar in excellence allowed Ukrainian prosthetics experts to learn how to mold, create and apply the best technologies to the users. Five patients were fitted with prosthetics including veterans from the war in the Donbas and Maidan activists.
The leaders in the field of both countries shared techniques and knowledge but Batzdorff admits that there were challenges as time was of the essence. The work day was usually about 12 hours long – and both expert and patient needed the time with each other to communicate what is needed and what is not. Batzdorff insists that “a lot of motivation is needed from the patient” since the prosthetist needs to constantly work on making sure the prosthetic fits comfortably.
The available materials were also different in Ukraine and there had to be some creative conclusions that were needed from the international team. However, they managed to get all the necessary fittings completed on time.
When this project began, the patients were asked about their goals and the prosthetics team tried to match them. Roman, a Maidan activist who was severely burned by a Molotov cocktail and has his left hand amputated, wanted to lift weights. The prosthetists managed to create a specially designed arm that can be applied around the weight lifting pole. He also showed off his mechanical arm that works via sensors in the forearm.
One of the most enthusiastic Ukrainian experts was Dr. Oleksii Goregliad from the Dnipropetrovsk Mechnykov Oblast Clinical Hospital. Although he is a trauma doctor in the ER (which receives the first cases of injured from the ATO), he wants to expand his knowledge to include prosthetics since many of his cases deal with amputations. He insists that the “international team was great” and that only after 2-3 days, the patients seemed very comfortable with their prosthetics. He also explains that the medical field in Ukraine has changed significantly during this time as many more volunteers have stepped up to donate not only equipment but also medicine and their own knowledge.
This mission was a success not only by allowing Ukrainians affected by the political and military actions of the country to get fitted with specialty prosthetics but has also allowed Ukrainian experts to become far more comfortable with European and North American techniques. This is hopefully the start of a long partnership between the two prosthetic communities.
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