Many servicemen who have returned from the front have serious injuries. And we, civilians, often ask ourselves what to do if a serviceman has a prosthesis? To say hi, thank, or bypass? And how should relatives and acquaintances behave? How to support? What to talk about?

Volunteers of our Foundation, who help the guys in rehabilitation, already have certain experience of communicating with and helping the military. And they can share it with everyone.

One of our volunteers, Bohdan, takes care of a patient with serious injuries. His care recipient was the commander of a unit who got in a car accident during a combat mission. He was in a coma for 1.5 months and currently has cognitive and physical impairments: he cannot speak, walk or care for himself.

For about 2 months, Bohdan has been visiting him, helping him with walks. The care recipient’s mother also visits him, but she cannot lift him up to put him in the wheelchair by herself, and the nurses do not always have enough time for everyone. During the visit, the patient has already progressed: he had a gastrostomy, a cystostomy, and catheters removed, and now he can feed by himself. And his mood has noticeably improved. Of course, there is still a lot of work, but thanks to such support and communication, more positive changes are happening.

We share Bohdan’s communication tips below:

• Guys don’t like to be pitied. There should be no tears, it would definitely not help.
• You cannot pretend that nothing happened. You need to treat that person like an ordinary person, keep a conversation, share news. The guys should feel respect, not pity. Then, they understand that they are not fighting in vain.
• When you help, you don’t need to do everything for a person. An assistant is more for safety. Give a person the opportunity to do everything by himself.
• You can talk about everything: cars, movies, life, news. And the topic of war should not be brought up if the military serviceman himself does not want to share.

Our Foundation is financing the medical rehabilitation program “Rehabilitation of Patients with Severe Physical Challenges”. The total number of program recipients today is 20 servicemen.