To take responsibility. A medical assistant who headed an ambulance substation when the war began

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The man was awarded the honorary order «For Merit» of the 3rd degree.
photo from the open sources

photo from the open sources

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During the period of active hostilities in the Kyiv region, medic Andrii Krasko faced the need to head the emergency ambulance substation in Boyarka. During one of his shifts, the man was forced to take a backup car and go to the place where shelling had taken place. 14 wounded were there, including two in serious condition with complex polytraumas.

The story of the paramedic was shared by the project «Thank you from our heart», which is jointly implemented by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and WHO. Their goal is to support medical workers who performed their duties in war conditions.

«I had to head the substation during the hostilities, but our medics held the main backbone. Substation brigades went out after the shelling of Boyarka, Vasylkiv district and evacuated the wounded from Bucha, Irpin, and Borodyanka. It was emotionally difficult, but in the eyes of the people around us, we saw respect for our work,» – the medic says.

Read also: «To take the wounded over the night, we drive to the touch.» War story of a paramedic

The previous manager was forced to leave because of the war, so Andrii had to take her position. Andrii was engaged not only in administrative work but directly went on calls himself. He spent almost all his time at the substation and only went home to change clothes.

During one of his «weekends», the Russians targeted Boyarka. «The projectile fell 100 meters from our substation, there was a strong push. I returned to work, began to coordinate the departure of teams. Got into a backup car and drove to the place of shelling. Then we counted 14 wounded, both adults and children. Victims with minor injuries were taken away by the team two or three at a time. Severe ones were transported separately. At that time, I brought a man with an open craniocerebral injury, the second brigade had the injured with a severe shrapnel wound in the abdomen. I kept the wounded man in a stable condition until we got to the hospital, but, unfortunately, he died in the operating room,» – the medical assistant recalls.

Read also: «Everyone sacrificed something to take the wounded across the border,» – senior paramedic

Andrii cannot forget the moments of evacuations along the green corridors from Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka. He recalls that once, the Russians took half of the medicines from an ambulance at gunpoint. However, he is glad to have taken out so many people.

The doctor and his team went to nearby settlements to transport the victims. For example, he helped to deliver a man who was pulled out from under the rubble in the Vasylkiv district by the State Emergency Service. «It was all done quickly, because there were compression injuries and polytrauma. We transferred him to the ambulance and took him to Vasylkiv,» – Andrii says.

Read also: A story of the oncologist who treats children despite the war. Our new video project «On the first line»

The Cabinet of Ministers recognized the courage and dedication of the doctor performing his official duties. He was awarded the honorary order «For Merit» of the 3rd degree.

Translated by Vitalii Holich

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Щодня наша команда працює над тим, щоб інформувати Вас про найважливіше в місті та області. За роки своєї праці ми довели, що «Твоє місто» - це медіа, якому справді можна довіряти. Долучіться до Спільноти Прихильників «Твого міста» та збережіть незалежне медіа для громади. Кожен внесок має значення!