Ukrainian nurse who lost both legs dances with new husband, vows to keep living

By Margaryta Chornokondratenko

LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Newlyweds Oksana Balandina and Viktor Vasyliv shared their first wedding ceremony dance in a hospital ward in Lviv, in western Ukraine.

The groom lifted his spouse up in his arms and turned her round between the hospital beds, as she put one arm round his neck and held a bandaged hand to his chest.

It’s a second the 23-year-olds thought they’d by no means share, after Balandina misplaced each her legs weeks earlier when a landmine exploded on March 27, somewhat over a month after Russia invaded, because the couple walked house in Lysychansk in Ukraine’s japanese Luhansk area.

“I solely managed to shout to him [Vasyliv]: ‘Honey, look!'”, stated Balandina, as she recalled the second it occurred.

“He checked out me when the mine exploded. I fell down with my face on the bottom. There was an excessive noise in my head. Then I circled and I began to tear off the clothes on me. I assumed it will be simpler to breathe as a result of there was not sufficient air,” Balandina recalled.

Vasyliv, who was strolling behind her, was unharmed.

“When it occurred, I gave up in despair, I didn’t know what to do. I noticed her not transferring,” he stated.

“If it was not for Oksana, I do not know what would have occurred. She is so robust. She didn’t faint. It was Oksana who coordinated our actions,” he added.

Balandina has spent the final month being handled in varied hospitals across the nation. Ultimately, medical doctors needed to amputate each of her legs and 4 fingers of her left hand.

She stated she spent lots of these days in a darkish place.

“I didn’t wish to dwell… I did not wish to dwell such life, I’ve two youngsters. I did not need them to see me like this. I didn’t wish to be a burden for anybody in my household,” stated Balandina, talking in hospital.

“However because of the assist, I accepted it. I have to maintain dwelling. It isn’t the tip of the life. If God left me alive, that is my future.”

Her two youngsters – a 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter – are actually protected with their grandparents within the Poltava area in central Ukraine.

After celebrating their wedding ceremony in hospital, the couple are hoping to journey to Germany the place Balandina will get prosthetic legs and bear rehabilitation.

The street forward is lengthy and with no sight of peace in Ukraine, Balandina says she will solely deal with the right here and now, and on her restoration.

“I wish to return to our city, to Lysychansk, however frankly talking, I’m nervous for my youngsters. When the conflict is over, there shall be so many issues occurring. The street was mined… It’s scary,” she stated.

Russia denies its troops kill or goal civilians in what Moscow calls a “particular operation” to disarm the nation and defend it from fascists.

Vasyliv stated he is grateful for every day that he shares together with his new spouse.

“I used to be afraid to lose her. I wished to cry, however I couldn’t cry. I used to be shocked, I couldn’t comprehend that it was occurring certainly. It was terrifying to lose the individual I like,” he stated.

(Reporting by Margaryta Chornokondratenko, Enhancing by Alexandra Hudson and Aurora Ellis)