Hit by a shell while busy with chores: 13-year-old boy from Kherson Oblast undergoes operation in Kyiv

A 13-year-old boy from Kherson Oblast who received a shrapnel wound has undergone surgery in Kyiv.

13-year-old Ivan was injured during the latest Russian shelling of Kherson Oblast, reports Ohmatdyt, the National Children's Specialist Hospital.

Ivan was outside doing chores when he heard shots and a crash as a neighbouring house was hit by Russian shells, fragments of which wounded him.

On 9 March, Ivan was taken to a Kherson hospital, where he received medical treatment, but the shrapnel in his upper arm proved impossible to remove at the time.

A few days later, he was sent to Ohmatdyt, where he was treated in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology.

Photo: Ohmatdyt

"Due to military operations, Ivan received a mine-explosive injury to his left upper arm,"  said orthopaedic traumatologist Mykola Dolianytskyi. "At Ohmatdyt, he was seen by a paediatrician, a surgeon and a traumatologist and clinically examined. 

We also performed a computed tomography scan, after which he was hospitalised in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology for further treatment. Ivan underwent a successful operation here at our hospital; a fragment was removed from the area of his left shoulder blade." 

The doctors discovered that Ivan does not like online games, but loves gardening. He grows various trees, bakes cookies, and helps his parents take care of animals and birds. 

13-year-old Ivan from Kherson Oblast was busy with household chores when he was wounded by shrapnel from a shell that hit nearby

Ivan's family has a lot of animals: cows, bull, ducks, chickens, dogs and cats.

"Ivan's mother, not holding back her tears, says that some of the animals died during one of the attacks, which really traumatised and upset Ivan," say the staff at Ohmatdyt.

"The boy loves and cares very much about nature, animals and birds. And it hurts him beyond expression to watch the Russians destroying all the living things around him."

Ivan's house was partially destroyed, and some pets were killed. The family is looking for evacuation options.

Russian shells repeatedly hit Ivan's yard, so the house was partially destroyed and has no doors or windows left. 

The family now lives in their neighbour's house, which was not so badly damaged, but they are being forced to seek shelter in another village due to the regular shelling and constant danger.

Now Ivan's family is looking for options for evacuation from the danger zone, along with all their animals.

Note: Earlier, doctors from Ohmatdyt saved the limb of 14-year-old Artem from Kherson, who was wounded during shelling as he was on his way to shelter.

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