The war in Ukraine has meant an explosion in the demand for prostheses and their parts.
of Kiev it says on the door of the office building in the suburbs Bez ObmeženWithout restrictions.
The company's name refers to war invalids and how life can at best continue after amputation.
A small factory opens inside, where prostheses are made. Making a prosthesis is individual and precise work, as it must fit the wearer perfectly.
First, a plaster copy of the leg stump is built. It is used to make a prosthetic sleeve that fits the stump. The sleeve can have different materials such as glass and carbon fiber.
The rest of the parts, such as the knee joint and the foot, are attached to the sleeve. The joint can be pneumatic, hydraulic or even electric. These components are imported from abroad.
Ukrainian the war has meant an explosion in the demand for prostheses and their parts. There are already a hundred such prosthetics clubs operating in the country.
47 years old Oleksandr Mozhovyi was wounded a year ago by a grenade in Vuhledar and had to be in tourniquets for eight hours.
Now he has come to change the sheath of the prosthesis.
The physiotherapist praises Mozhovyi's progress. Few walk as well after a year, and it has taken a lot of work.
“It depends on the person himself how he manages to rehabilitate,” says Mozhovyi himself.
According to him, family support is the most decisive. He has his whole family with him: his wife Oksana and daughters Iryna and Yea.
Oleksandr Mozhovyi, 47, was wounded a year ago by a grenade in Vuhledar. Oleksandr's family came to see him for rehabilitation. Daughters Iryna and Jeva and wife Oksana on the bench.
Bez Obmežen was founded by an Indian who studied engineering in Ukraine Nagender Parashar already after the start of the Donbas war in 2014. Today it works in ten localities.
The leader of this understanding Andri Ovcharenko says prostheses are made for both soldiers and civilians. The exact number is a military secret, but for this company alone, we are talking about thousands a year.
The state pays for the prosthesis.
“If the patient has a knee, the price will be 500–8,000 euros. If there is no knee, the price can be from 8,000 to 20,000 euros,” says Ovcharenko.
Once every three years, the prosthesis can be replaced at the state's expense, as the size of the limb usually changes.
Prosthesis learning to use it requires a lot of occupational therapy. You can get it from Bez Obmežen for free.
By Symoroz has taken off his prosthesis and artificial knee and is exercising on the mat to build strength in his legs, arms and back.
War invalid Oleh Symoroz, 26, was injured in a car mine explosion.
Oleh Symoroz rehabilitates himself and tests prostheses.
The now 26-year-old Symoroz was wounded in October 2022 after driving a car into a mine in a counterattack in the liberated area.
An eight-kilogram trotyl charge exploded under the vehicle. There were four other soldiers on board, but Symoroz was the only one who lost limbs. The fellow soldiers thought they had been ambushed and started to defend themselves.
Meanwhile, Symoroz was bleeding on the driver's seat. He gathered his last strength and managed to call out to his comrade for help.
“They realized there was no enemy there. Then they quickly applied tourniquets and pulled me out of the car.”
After the explosion, Symoroz still had another knee, but it was later amputated in a hospital in Dnipro, because the functioning of the kidneys was threatened.
In the exercise room, you meet physically and mentally strong people. A disabled person has to take care of his muscles much better than a healthy person. And when the body is in order, the mind feels better too.
During the year, Symoroz says he did a “colossal amount” of exercises.
Now he has driven to the place himself in a car, which he walked to with his own new legs from his home. The purpose is to get rid of the wheelchair completely.
Before winter, he even walked in the city, but it's not possible in slippery conditions.
“The problem is that the injury affects the hands, which move poorly. I'm gaining muscle, but slowly.”
Part of war invalids has been employed by Bez Obmežen.
39 years old Denys Bartšuk manufactures plaster casts. Of course, he made his prosthesis himself.
“A prosthesis is a prosthesis. Comfort depends on how it's made,” he says.
Leg prostheses await testing.
He lost his leg in a missile attack while defending his hometown of Brovar at the very beginning of the Great War. Now he can work eight-hour days.
And that's not a
ll. In November, Bartšuk took part in a power-lifting event for the disabled in Madrid, where he pulled a twenty-ton truck with a rope.
Paid work will be necessary for Bartšuk, because the pension of a war invalid is 350 euros per month. In addition, he received 18,000 euros as a one-time compensation after being injured.
Sotainvalidi has been promised an apartment, but people in Brovar have been waiting for an apartment since 2017.
Veteran organizations offer psychological and legal help, but no financial support.
Barchuk's unfortunate conclusion is that war invalids have been forgotten in Ukraine.
“Politicians only remember us during the elections.”
This is also a question that needs to be taken care of in a country where new amputees appear every day.
Soldiers' insignia decorate the wall of the office.
A lot of grinding tools are used in the production of prostheses.
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