"Mine fragment got stuck in his brain": 28-year old Ukrainian soldier undergoes treatment in Lviv
Roman Kovaliuk, a 28-year old Ukrainian soldier, is undergoing medical treatment in the city of Lviv after receiving a shrapnel wound to the head as a result of a mine explosion.
The mine fragment got stuck in the left hemisphere of Roman’s brain and paralysed his body.
Source: First Medical Union of Lviv
Six months ago, Roman and his comrade-in-arms started their military duty in Donetsk Oblast. On his way to the trench, his comrade-in-arms stepped on a Russian mine, and it detonated, killing him on the spot.
Roman managed to survive; he fell down and realised that he couldn’t feel the right part of his body, couldn’t talk, and was helpless.
Roman Kovaliuk. All photos: First Medical Union of Lviv
He was saved by his comrades-in-arms, who went out to search for their missing friends.
"At first, Roman thought that the Russians were getting close. So he took a grenade and was ready to pull the pin when suddenly he heard a familiar voice," the representatives of the medical union recall.
At the stabilisation point, Roman received first aid and then was sent to the city of Dnipro in serious condition and with mine fragments in his brain.
In the hospital, medics discovered that the fragment struck the frontal lobe, got stuck in the left hemisphere of the brain and led to paralysis and loss of speech.
Roman had to re-learn to speak, walk and move his limbs
In the city of Dnipro, surgeons removed the fragment of a Russian mine and multiple fragments from the bones, after which Roman was transferred to the city of Kyiv.
In the Kyiv hospital, Roman was on a ventilator. Medics deemed the chances of his survival to be low.
Yet the soldier did not agree with their forecasts; Roman regained consciousness even though he was paralysed and unable to speak.
After Roman’s condition stabilised, he was transferred to Lviv.
"Roman was not able to move any of his limbs or talk. He had to relearn to walk and speak. We faced a challenge," the Lviv medics recall.
Roman fought for his right to a full life
The team of rehabilitation specialists had been working with Roman for five months. As a result, he learned how to walk and speak again. Medics call this result "astonishing".
Roman joined the Ukrainian army at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. He had to give up his job as a cook to do so.
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