- What did you do before SVO?
— About two or three years ago, I opened a coffee shop in my hometown of Pestovo — we haven’t had such establishments yet.
Then things went on, expanded, pizza and sushi were added to the coffee shop.
And he became interested in tactical medicine even after serving in the army in 2018.
My military specialty is a senior reconnaissance medical instructor.
I went to courses, received certificates, created a military-patriotic club in Pestovo.
The children in it learn to provide first aid, navigate the terrain, handle weapons.
Do you remember the day when the special operation began? What feelings did you experience then?
— Delight.
I remember riding the bus, dozing.
I look - notifications pop up in Telegram.
News, news, news!
In fact, these events were a matter of time, conversations among the military had been going on for a long time, so there was no surprise, no surprise.
— How did you get to SVO? Were there any problems with the equipment?
— I volunteered in May.
I turned to the military registration and enlistment office, asked to join my own unit, I wanted to go along with my colleagues.
There were no equipment problems.
I was 100% ready - I even handed out something to the guys.
I had a paramedic backpack with a large supply of everything I needed.
© Photo from personal archive
We were trained for three months, and at the end of the summer I left for the war zone.
- How did you get injured?
- They wounded me, as I remember now, on October 7th.
There was an arrival of HIMARS.
I was drinking tea in a trench with another guy, we clinked glasses, my brother sang a song, and then the fire went out - it was my vision that disappeared for a while.
shell-shocked.
I look at a colleague - a donkey to the ground.
I'm like, "Oh!
We need to help."
I had a first aid kit with me.
I unfolded the stretcher, I put my brother down and I understand - it’s hard, it’s hard for me, it’s knocking me out.
He also sank to the ground, bowed his head, I looked - I was gushing blood!
I look at the stretcher - at the boy, at the stretcher - at the boy.
As a result, he himself lay down next to him, waved his hand - he gave a signal.
And the guys immediately: “The big one is wounded!”
- How long did the treatment take? And how did your family react?
- There was a mine-explosive head injury - a fragment hit the head.
I remember that I vomited, and I showed my thumb, they say, everything is fine.
I came to my senses already in the hospital - I lay in a coma for two weeks.
First, he spent a month in intensive care in Sevastopol, then he was transferred to the neurology department at the Vishnevsky hospital in Moscow.
After that, he spent three weeks in a sanatorium in Arkhangelsk.
In total, I spent three months in hospitals, in mid-December I was discharged, and I returned home.
© Photo from personal archive
Headaches remained - there was a severe bruise and swelling of the brain.
At first he could not speak, he only mumbled.
I returned speech with a speech pathologist-defectologist - both oral and written.
To extract the fragment, a part of my skull was cut out, now the area of the cerebral cortex is located directly under the skin, it is necessary to cover the missing part of the bone with a titanium plate.
It will be made on a 3D printer in about a month and installed.
The family is happy that everything is over.
After the injury and during the recovery, the social networks were taken over by my wife and mother - they wrote posts, showed me, and I nodded or mumbled in response when I still could not speak, almost like my daughter Alice, who is now a year old.
Remastering the phone did not take very long.
I write messages, record voice and video.
- You started the Telegram channel "Chain" even before the injury. Are you still running it now?
- Yes, I used to write about equipment, training, and now there is a vlog about my rehabilitation.
So that friends and relatives can see and know what I am now and what is happening to me.
Colleagues are also aware of my channel, they read and help me, including through it.
© Photo from personal archive
- What are you doing now? What are you planning to do when you finally get better?
- I go to patriotic clubs, while as an honored guest.
Just yesterday I saw my guys from the patriotic club whom I taught - they miss me very much, and I miss them too.
I plan to continue teaching tactical medicine - it is still difficult, but when the rehabilitation is over, I hope to return to this.
I have not yet passed the military medical commission, which will determine the degree of suitability - the military unit tries not to fire a person until he is fully recovered, he is very supportive of his fighters.