April 2025 Update
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April 30
Shipment Update
April 19
One large box (31 lbs) was shipped to Lviv. Shipping cost: $116.19.
We also met with our regular donor, Irina Kalaida, and picked up boxes of bandages, gauze, and hospital care supplies for an upcoming shipment.
April 26
A total of 14 boxes were sent to Odessa (to the charity fund "Vezha"):
- 6 boxes (229 lbs) shipped by air;
- 8 boxes (272 lbs) shipped by sea.
Contents included: a large box of frontline medic supplies, tube feeding supplies, and hospital care items.
Additionally:
- 1 box (31 lbs) to Kharkiv containing dental supplies and craft materials for children's educational activities
- 1 box (31 lbs) to Kharkiv with supplies for frontline medics
Total weight shipped: 563 lbs
Total delivery cost: $1,281.61
We are deeply grateful to all our donors. Special thanks to:
Irina Kalaida, Vadim Soldatov, Alexandra Obraztsov, Mr. Chip Ernst, Mrs. Nicol Martinez, Mrs. Sachi Dalwadi, Mrs. Jules Gale, Mrs. Karen Taylor, and Mrs. Danna Brian for their generous support.
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April 17
First the basement shook, and then the stretchers started pouring in. All civilians. A GRAD rocket barrage had ripped through a nearby neighborhood.
A pickup truck screeched to a halt in front of the entrance. On the cargo bed laid an elderly woman, unconscious, agonally breathing and gurgling on her own blood. More of it streamed from an enormous gaping wound on the back of her head.
I reach for a pulse — nothing. I mutter a curse under my breath. To my surprise, a voice in English broke through the tension: “We just found her mate. Everyone thought she was dead, but she’s alive - I can tell.” It turns out that this British volunteer had ran to the scene, searched the rubble, and pulled her out with the help of bystanders.
It’s a long shot, but we’ll give it our best.
We quickly whisked her to the shock room, where a team of anesthesiologists, trauma surgeons, and combat medics descended on her. Her skull was cracked open, brain matter visible through all of the blood. I scanned her heart with the ultrasound — it beat faintly, too weak to produce a palpable pulse. We suctioned her, placed a breathing tube, and transfused unit after unit of whole blood, all while the surgeons worked meticulously to clamp the bleeding vessels.
The MEDEVAC team arrived promptly, taking her away to a nearby surgical facility.
I don’t hear about her again - another unknown casualty whose fate I will never know.
In the aftermath, I thought about her — likely a lifelong resident of this Eastern town, probably a native Russian speaker. She was probably told to evacuate, but had nowhere to go, or refused to leave the only home she’s ever known.
The creatures who unleashed the rockets on her neighborhood claim to be her liberators - as they flatten her street, reduce her home to rubble, and try to kill her.
When the kremlin talks about a “russian world,” this is what they mean — destroyed homes, shattered lives, and a future buried beneath propaganda and rubble.
⸻
Our team has just wrapped a one-month rotation at a stabilization point and has now relocated to a new area of the frontline. We’re continuing to serve as trauma anesthetists and paramedics — now working in partnership with MMRescue.
Our medics took part in treating countless patients over the past few weeks — but here are the 19 patients we’ve personally evacuated to forward surgical teams since our last update.
1. 52 y/o male – Amputation of the right upper leg, mild TBI.
2. 29 y/o male – Shrapnel injuries and moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI).
3. 47 y/o male – Multiple shrapnel wounds to both legs, face, and left forearm; open fracture of right lower extremity.
4. 30 y/o male – Multiple shrapnel wounds to both arms, both legs, back, abdomen, and forehead.
5. 45 y/o male – Blast injury; shrapnel wounds to pelvis, right lower leg, ankle joint; suspected chemical inhalation.
6. 48 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to right shoulder and left thigh; suspected chemical inhalation.
7. 49 y/o male – Multiple shrapnel wounds; injuries to both lower extremities and face; mild TBI.
8. 42 y/o male – Blast injury; shrapnel wounds to left thigh and right knee.
9. 38 y/o male – Blunt head trauma; mild TBI; bruising to head, chest, and lower back.
10. 48 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to right upper limb, both lower limbs, and left armpit area.
11. 38 y/o male – Gunshot wound to right shoulder; shrapnel wounds to right hand and thigh.
12. 38 y/o male – Multiple small shrapnel wounds to right arm and back; sustained from ballistic trauma.
13. 51 y/o male – Small shrapnel wound to right side of neck; suspected chemical inhalation.
14. 47 y/o male – Shrapnel wound to left shoulder.
15. 24 y/o male – Gunshot and skeletal trauma to right hand; fractured finger.
16. 44 y/o male – Suspected anaphylactic reaction; puncture wound to chin.
17. 45 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to left cheek and left shoulder.
18. 52 y/o male – Head, facial, and abdominal trauma; mild TBI; lacerations to face, arms, and legs.
19. 24 y/o male – Mild TBI, shrapnel wound to lower leg, and post-blast headache symptoms.
We sleep during the days and work at night. In between casualties, we train. Chest tube suturing, ultrasound-guided nerve blocks, blood typing with the ELDON Card. The goal is simple: never stop learning.
Thank you for standing with us, for keeping the lights on and the diesel running. If you’re still reading this, then you’re not just following along — you’re part of it. You’re part of what keeps this going.
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April 14
Shipment on April 12: 7 boxes of hospital supplies sent to Kyiv (charity fund "Наш промiнь свiтла") - 200 lbs. Contents: surgical supplies, IV supplies, 2 huge box of supplies for frontline medics, supplies for tube feeding.
- 1 box 28 lbs. to Kharkiv - craft materials for children education activities.
Total weight 228 lbs., total cost of the delivery $687.12.
We are grateful to all our donors. Special Thanks to Dr. Bronfine, Vadim Soldatov and Alexandra Obraztsov, Katya Poklad, Mrs. Judy Craviero and Mrs. Amanda Lee for their generous donations.
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April 7
Shipment on April 05:
- 8 boxes boxes of hospital supplies sent to Kharkiv (charity fund "ETOC") - 281 lbs. Contents: surgical supplies, ventilator supplies, 2 huge box of supplies for frontline medics, supplies for tube feeding.
- 7 boxes sent to Odesa (charity fund "Vezha") - 246 lbs.
This shipment contains very special items: last week, we received fifteen sets of body armor for demining and search & rescue dogs, generously provided by Alexei Faktorovich and Tim S Humphreys. After some time spent clearing them with customs, they are now on their way to the recipients. Also we add 4 boxes of medical and or tube feeding supplies to this shipment.
- 1 box 25 lbs. to Lviv - medical supplies for frontline medics.
Total weight 552 lbs., total cost of the delivery $1,291.05.
We are grateful to all our donors. Special Thanks to Dr. Bronfine, Vadim Soldatov and Alexandra Obraztsov, Katya Poklad, Mrs Rachel McGovern, Mr. Peter Meissner and Mrs Anne Elizabeth and for their generous donations.
