"Picked up severed hand as a joke": Special Operations Forces paramedics talk about everyday life in war

"Lifty" and "Vyshybala" (Bouncer) are two medics serving in the 8th Separate Special Forces Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Lifty was injured on 24 February 2022 when he stepped on a mine, the head of the medical centre of Lifty’s detachment recalls in an interview published by the Special Operations Forces.

The way they work is simple, the medics say. If a report of a wounded person is received while on duty, they go to the evacuation point.

There, they discuss how long it will take to evacuate the wounded.

Source: Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Quote: "All this time, if possible, the medic with them helps the wounded. He stops critical bleeding. We examine the wounded in more depth and evacuate them to a stabilisation point, where full medical assistance is provided," Lifty says.

Vyshybala says that it is important to work in pairs because if there are several wounded, they can be helped faster.

"It sometimes happens that you have to sit alone, sort them and determine who has a more serious injury," Vyshybala says.

The soldier says she is used to breaking stereotypes about women in the army. Often, it is difficult to transfer to one detachment or another without a personal introduction, Vyshybala says, because "girls are different".

The doctor admits that she likes black humour.

"Once, there was this wounded man whose hand was held on by a tendon, and he was driving and told me that his hand had flown towards the tank during an explosion. I picked it up and said: "Here it is." It was funny to me in that situation, although he pretended that he didn't understand. When I visited him in the hospital, we reminisced and laughed. He also lost the watch from that hand, and he never found the hand after evacuation. Laughter helps," Vyshybala says.

Another time, she says, when she was evacuating a concussed soldier, the man thought that the doctor was flirting with him, so at some point, he asked her not to do it because he was married.

"Once there was a wounded man whose trousers were slipping down, and he was pulling up his underpants and trousers the whole way [to the hospital]. I asked him not to do this because the wound was close to the groin and I needed this area. I told him not to be ashamed because it's not like we are going to get married, this is his life," the military woman said.

Lifty says that there are soldiers who are careful to make sure that doctors do not cut their clothes when they are wounded, as they "pay a lot of money" for these clothes.

Because of this, Vyshybala jokingly says she is "in debt" because she has cut a lot of expensive equipment while providing medical assistance.

"Everyone says that the day of victory will be the happiest day. I think that it will be the day when you breathe out and remember everything and everyone that you have lost. On this day, I will remember all those who gave their lives for this victory.

This is the first thing I will do – I will stop and remember everyone or visit the graves of those people whom I sometimes did not have the opportunity to come and see on their last journey," the soldier added.

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