Everything annoyed me, especially the topics that involve prosthetics and amputations

My amputation story started with sports, specifically kickboxing. It was this sport that I practiced in the 10-11th grades. It so happened that I fell during a physical education class, but despite the injury, I got up as usual and ran on, not even paying attention to the injury.

After the injury, the knee began to hurt from time to time, and kickboxing also gave a load at the same time.

Later I found out that my coach plans to send me to a regional kickboxing competition. This is the first competition I’m supposed to have. I started to train very intensively. On some of the days the coach saw that I was limping, made remarks, but I didn’t pay any attention to it. One day in training I got a “low kick” on my leg, just above the knee, I went home with great difficulty.

I started limping even more after my last injury. We went to a pediatric traumatologist because I was only 17 years old at the time. The doctor prescribed treatment and started treating me incorrectly. But we didn’t know about it and realized it later when it was too late. The essence of the treatment was to warm the knee and the place of injury and it turns out that with this he led to the growth of cancer.

After many consultations with doctors, the last one sent us to an MRI and it showed that it was a sarcoma. We were advised to go straight to Kyiv for treatment. They tried to save the leg there, and the Crab Foundation helped us all the time. My leg was treated for a couple of months, but then we had a quick amputation, because the chemo did not help and the tumor instead of getting smaller was growing even bigger.

On August 31, 2011 I had an amputation, and further treatment continued for another year. The Crab Foundation helped me raise funds for a prosthesis, which was made for me in Kyiv. With this prosthesis I studied at the institute, but it was uncomfortable to wear it. All this time I did not perceive myself as a new person without a leg.

Everything annoyed me, especially the topics related to prosthesis and amputation. I spent a lot of time putting on the prosthesis, which made me very nervous. The sudden death of a friend added to the stress and I could not cope with it, the only thing I could do was to go to a psychologist.

It was with a psychologist that I was able to accept myself and began to search for a prosthetic company to create a new, normal prosthesis. And in this matter I was also helped by the Crab Foundation with its advice to go to Odesa, to the Tellus Center for Prosthetic and Orthopedic Assistance.

Of course I went and I liked it. I saw the rehabilitator Valerii, who was also on a prosthesis, and it was this that finally dispelled my doubts. The center for prosthetics was chosen. A rehabilitologist without a leg knows all the difficulties that one has to go through in rehabilitation and he, more than anyone else, understands how it is for an amputee.

I got my prosthetic hip, went through rehab and you know, there is a desire to even put on the prosthesis and walk on it, for the first time in 10 years. Until 2021, I had gentle training, bars, tourniquet, went to the gym, carried iron. And this year I started doing MMA for myself, I love wrestling. Now I attend these trainings for my soul.

I want to say to those who find themselves in a similar situation that psychological support, help in 90% is needed immediately after amputation. It is very difficult to deal with this problem on your own, and even on the contrary, if there is no help, the depression worsens and the problems seem even bigger.

I studied to be a psychologist, but it didn’t help. Don’t be afraid to turn to specialists. Talk about your worries, doubts, because it is in communication that you will be able to understand what path to choose next and where to start, and finally, to accept yourself.