Dear friends, it would be nice if we could say the situation improved and there were some good news on the project. But, honestly, it seems still far from it. Actually, we are talking about that specific case when application of a special medical apparatus, namely an ultrasound cavitator, could change the current course of events. This gear allows to save precious time and resources of both the patients and the doctors. It is used for elimination of the beds of dangerous infections at early stages to prevent further worsening of the patients’ conditions. It will help to save the young veteran we’ve told you about a while ago, from years of pain, suffering and lost of hope.
We mean the situation with one of our veterans that we described in our earlier posts. A young guy underwent treatment at the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics – we ‘d prefer to keep his details private as his story seems a rather sensitive issue. A few years ago he got wounded at war. Some metal fragments had cut the tissues severely and got stuck deep in his body. Doctors decided not to remove some of them not to traumatize the body even more and avoid causing any additional harm to his inner organs. Medics managed to keep him alive, then stabilized his condition and started restoring him from severe injuries step by step.
At certain moment, the young veteran was taken to a hospital in Germany. Apart from other procedures, local medics implanted an innovative prosthetics of the hip joint in his body aiming to replace the natural one destroyed by the injury. Over time, this would allow him to use the leg in full and so get back to normal life.
Still as soon as the guy was back home, the things went wrong almost immediately. He had got a severe infection which ruined the tissues adjoining the prosthetics, in a flash, and lead to serious contamination of his entire body. the wounded fighter was taken to a special medical facility, the Bone infection surgery unit of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. The only thing its doctors had to do was an instant removal of the prosthetics followed by a number of measures aimed to suppress the infection.
Over the whole period of time, medics fought against that plain still highly resistant infection that was ruining the guy’s body. It looked as if this antibiotics-resistant bacteria strain just made fools of everyone: unfortunately, in spite of all the doctors’ efforts, the application of surgical methods in clearing the wounds is limited: the body needs time and resources to get recovered after any invasive procedure, so the whole process resembles a race against time. Actually, against the infection, in this particular case. As soon as the wound gets relatively healed, surgeons need to operate it over and over again, thus exhausting the organism to the extent when a patient can simply die or remain crippled for a lifetime. This is the possible cost of overcoming severe infection.
Well, despite all odds, we’ve got some small victory here. While working on the problem, the Unit’s doctors managed to detect the main body of infection. It is centered around a tiny metal shell fragment that had stuck in the lower part of the spine, next to the intestine. The contamination is being spread over the entire body by means of a natural flow of liquids as well as through the wound channels. Logically, it contaminates the adjoining hip joint area lavishly.
On taking advice of foreign colleagues (as German doctors also took much effort trying to cope with the infection), the medics elaborated a joint solution to the problem. A couple of days ago, the suffering guy was transported to Germany again. Their doctors are going to surgically remove the fragment, clear the wound and remove all the contaminated and necrotic adjoining tissue. Time will show whether the method will prove efficient. Still, this will give the guy the chance to survive.
This all is not about the lack of experience or skills on the part of Ukrainian doctors as we deal with the most qualified specialists whose ability to make medical wonders is out of the question. The matter is, it is impossible to save patients using plain surgical instruments, good intentions and sincere prayers solely. Today’s challenges require usage of the up-to-date equipment as well, and this is the problem.
Together with you, dear friends, within the Last Hope Unit project, we have already accumulated a considerable amount and even crossed a symbolic psychological line: as for today, we need to raise only less than a million hryvnias. The whole sum will allow us to purchase the cavitator, a piece of modern medical gear for ultrasound clearing of wounds and beds of infection. It allows to physically destroy existing beds of infection deep within the body tissues, to break up protective barriers and bring antibiotics to the right place with no excessive surgical manipulations that cause additional suffering to patients.
As always, we ask you for your assistance once again. We should not wait for any support on the part of the state as this is obviously not the case. In view of scarce sponsoring of health institutions it feels like asking a sick person for help. Still, we seems have two options, to wait until the ice breaks on its own, or take on this together: do as much as everyone can, step by step, hryvnia by hryvnia, to solve this problem fast and effectively. Because the price is too high: it is ordinary Ukrainians’ daily suffering and well-being at a stake. Can we afford pretending indifferent and keeping away from supporting our own people?
Dear friends, please join in as your participation is essential!
