Special Operations Forces Soldier Vladyslav Kurysko: "After being wounded, I wanted to die. I told guys: "Bury me somewhere here".
The severe injury that he received in Klishchiivka radically changed the life of the soldier of the 210th Separate Special Operations Battalion BERLINGO, nicknamed Ganibal. It resulted in complete paralysis and doctors gave him a very disappointing prognosis. Recalling this period, he says he did not want to live.
A professional athlete who had been in competitive sports for many years, setting records, and when the full-scale war began, he went to defend the country, he could not accept the fact that at best he would be in a wheelchair. That's why he started the early neurorehabilitation program. Now he not only walks but has also started to work a little. His only regret is that he was unable to return to the front, although he hoped to do so until the last moment. We talked to Vladyslav Kurysko about the neurorehabilitation programs that soldiers who have suffered severe head or spinal injuries need, his own experience, and the path that soldiers go through to receive payments after being wounded and how it can be simplified.
"THE BRAIN REMEMBERS THAT IT DID SOMETHING, BUT THE BODY CAN NOT REPEAT IT"
- A month ago, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported that Western intelligence services believe that Ukraine may lose even more territory by the end of the year. How do you feel about this news?
- It is unpleasant to read this. Because, in my opinion, this is not entirely true. Everyone understands that, unfortunately, Russian influence remains in Europe. Both governments and their intelligence services have had scandals with spies that have suddenly appeared. So personally, I don't really believe in such predictions, and I don't like it when civilians believe such information. It starts right away: "Everything is lost", "We are being surrendered", "Tomorrow there will be a truce", etc. Someone heard something, added something, put into words. In my opinion, this does not have a positive effect on people's moods. We have this attitude: foreign intelligence has said it, so everything will definitely happen.
In my opinion, everything will happen depending on how we get help. Tomorrow there will be no supply of the necessary weapons, and anything can happen. We are very dependent on what is supplied to us, in what quantity and how quickly.
- Fortunately, we are getting help, although, of course, we would like more. Perhaps our Western partners underestimate us, and do not believe that we will hold on and win?
-I disagree with you, Tania. It's not that they don't believe in us, but rather that they are trying not to cross the "red lines" once again. If they wanted us to win, it could have been done last year. Give us twice as much as they are asking for, and we can win. It's not like we'll give more and someone in Russia might not like it.
Yes, we are really getting help now, and that is very good. But in such a way that we do not lose in the near future. At least I think so.
- When you went to war as a volunteer fighter, did you think about how long it would take?
- No, there was no understanding. Even though they promised on TV that it would take 2-3 weeks or six months at most. Statements that the sanctions would work, that we would be given everything and that we would push them down, helped the population psychologically at the time. As well as the fact that there would be counteroffensives, this would "break" the front and everything would be fine in the future.
- The counter-offensive operations in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions inspired everyone and gave them moral support. However, the next counter-offensive, which was much talked about last spring, did not meet the high expectations of society.
- The society expected too much, not understanding how things actually work at the front. People think that the counteroffensive means only moving forward and only winning. Unfortunately, this is not the case. And when we received less than we expected, the mood was on the verge of indignation. Like, how can this be, we were told... To all those who are outraged, sitting on their couches, I want to say: show us how to do it. There are a lot of experts and critics, but in fact the mobilization showed how many people really want to fight and how many people think it's good when victory is achieved by someone else's hands. There are those who think that I'd rather donate and say that I'm with the Armed Forces. I also have many friends in this category. Some say: "Everyone helps as much as they can, I repost the training camps." Well, that's some kind of help. I am most outraged when people from some competitions make posts about how a crowd of half a thousand people gathered on one Mavic. And you can't blame them, because it's good that they did something. But the scale of what was done and the conversations around it... Disproportionate. But I still often see this on the pages of people from my pre-military life. That's why my social circle has changed and become smaller.
- A year ago, you wrote a post on your Facebook page saying that society should take responsibility for the military returning from war to civilian life, just as they once took responsibility for society. What have you seen this year? How can you characterize the new veterans' policy and social protection, which are much talked about by officials at various levels and members of the public, but most veterans do not know where to turn to solve their urgent problems?
- Some changes have already been made, but overall it is a rather inert system. I understand that this is due to the fact that different services are involved, and the processes are bureaucratized. You are told what exactly the state guarantees, you collect documents to receive certain payments or benefits, and then the documents "go around" for months in offices from ministry to ministry. First the Ministry of Justice, then the Ministry of Social Protection, then the Ministry of Veterans again. And then you have to apply to the state authorities at the place of registration-in my case, Dnipro-and then in Kyiv. All this is delayed, and you can not only receive payments for injuries and disability but also find out exactly what stage your documents are at. Even though all the certificates were issued officially, they are not "bought" papers, and they should have been checked and resolved in your presence. But this has been going on for about six months, and your thoughts on this are not very good. It's like you're waiting for some kind of miracle.
- How do officials explain this?
- No way. It is such a complicated mechanism with many connected instances. This is about the question of the "Country in a smartphone". As a result, you still collect printed documents and they travel all over the country. However, it would probably be possible to do it all electronically.
I also collected and submitted documents, waited almost six months, so I'm talking about all this from my own experience.
- Why did it take so long?
- No one comments on this. I submitted the documents, three months passed, and I contacted the Ministry of Veterans' Hotline to find out how long they would be considered. They said: "You will get an answer". I asked what the reasonable timeframe for consideration was, and they generally exist. I ask to clarify how long I have to wait. "As soon as it is considered, you will receive an answer. You will receive a text message and an email," they explain.
From what we hear at events held by the Ministry of Veterans, they are now working to streamline this process. So that there is no running around the country so that it is a single veteran window. So that you can solve both health-related and legal issues in one place. In other words, issues related to rehabilitation, psychological support, filing documents and receiving benefits.
I have repeatedly said at meetings with representatives of the ministry that it is important to make sure that the solution of all these issues is not connected to the place of registration of a person. This is my situation, but thank God I am able to walk and I can go from Kyiv to Dnipro. But I have comrades who are in a wheelchair. How should they be? There are many issues that a trustee cannot solve. The presence of a military person is required. At least, that's what we are told. You have to go back to Dnipro in a week from Kyiv to put in your signature and pick up a document. Because you have your registration there, and you rent a house here, so you can't submit documents.
There is movement in this direction. I hope that it will be faster and that all this will be resolved before the end of the war. Because as I understand it, if it drags on, then after the victory, which I am sure will be ours anyway, there will be something more important than veterans. That's why we need to do it now.
- I don't understand why it needs to be complicated and why it can't be solved quickly. Because many guys really can't travel from town to town, and some don't have relatives to help them.
- Or the city where the person is registered is under occupation. For example, one of my comrades from Mariupol. He was wounded and is now undergoing rehabilitation in the Kyiv region.
- Vladyslav, you were seriously wounded when you were fighting in the Bakhmut direction. Was it the first one or have you had others?
- The second one. The first one was near Lysychansk in the summer of 2022. Shrapnel in the thigh, not severe compared to the last one. After about a month of treatment, vacation and then I returned to the front. One shrapnel was removed, one remained, they said it would be difficult to get it out. I have it now as a memento.
The second one was in Klishchiivka. It was an explosive mine but without penetration. Injuries to the 2nd to 6th cervical vertebrae, resulting in complete paralysis. Only the head could barely move. Over time, the left side gradually began to let up, while the right side was motionless for a very long time. Now there is also something to work on.
In simple but close to medical terms, neural networks were destroyed. In other words, the brain remembers that it did something, but the body cannot repeat it, because the signal does not pass through, because the neural connections were destroyed as a result of the injury. And the difficulty lies in whether you can rebuild it all again. This determines how efficient you will be, whether you will remain paralyzed in the future, or whether you will be able to change something
- Did this happen during the battle?
- We had already worked at that time and were retiring.
- Did something strike?
- It often happens there that you can get injured not only during the actual battle.
When it all happened, I was in the back of a pickup truck. So I did not immediately realize that something was wrong with my spine, I thought it was shrapnel again. My back and chest were burning, my arms and legs were not moving, only my head. But there was no blood around. I realized that something was wrong with my spinal cord.
Then I told the guys: "Bury me somewhere here". In other words, but the point is the same.
They tried to support me somehow: "It's just a lock up, you'll be running the day after tomorrow, calm down." They pulled me out.
But I know a little bit about physiology, I realized that it was not a small scratch mark. But they did not give up, they said that everything would be fine. Unfortunately, these guys who pulled me out are no longer with us. So the question is: did something bad happen to me at that time, or was it something that distracted me from something else? Because a week and a half later, half of the group I was with died. I would have been with the guys if I hadn't been wounded. Maybe they would have survived, but the battle would have developed differently. Or maybe I would have stayed there with them. I think about it a lot, but it happened as it happened. Obviously, someone really wanted me to live on. Although after the injury I wanted to die. I've been in sports since the second grade, and I've spent most of my life in competitive sports. And here they tell you: "My friend, get ready, at best you will be in a wheelchair." This is the so-so chance.
- You said you were driving a pick-up truck when it happened. How did you know it was a hit if there was no blood or obvious damage?
- I felt a blow to my back and head. The helmet saved my head, but everything on the helmet was thrown off.
Everything in the back was covered in dust. We were thrown up. I was sure we had hit a mine. I did not see what was outside.
- You didn't want to live, we didn't have euthanasia, so you had to. What happened in the hospital and what helped you cope with all this?
- Probably, the feeling that you have a duty to your family. Talking about how you have to work, not give up. However, I began to gain confidence only when I was being taken away from the Nodus Scientific and Practical Center for Neurorehabilitation. Before that, I was always lying there waiting for my friends and acquaintances to find a rehabilitation center that could take care of me, and which doctors would even dare to take on such a case.
When I was in Dnipro, the treatment was as follows: a physiotherapist would come, take my arm, lift it up, move it to the right and left. He would do this for 20-30 minutes, then say: "I'll come to you tomorrow". I said: "Thank you, I'll be waiting". That was the rehabilitation.
Then I was transferred to the Central Military Hospital. Thank God, I didn't stay there long - Nodus specialists took me out of the hospital after the chief physician of the center, Oleksandr Kulyk, had visited me beforehand. Oleksandr Vasylovych gave me confidence that the future could be different. Technologies work, you have to believe, you have to work yourself. They explained to me that each patient is treated individually. Not like it was in the hospital when it was the same for everyone in the ward. When there is a person with shrapnel wounds lying next to you, whose arms do not work because of broken muscles and bones. And me, whose everything seems to be intact, but does not work because there is no neural connection. And the method of treatment is the same. The physiotherapist sat at the bedside of that patient in the same way, lifting his arms.
- Separate centers are good, but there should be a system of rehabilitation for patients at the state level, depending on the injuries they have received.
- You are right. At meetings with the veterans' community, the Ministry of Veterans occasionally talks about rehabilitation centers that are planned to be opened somewhere. It is a fashionable topic nowadays to rehabilitate the military. But I don't want donors and sponsors who fund these projects to spend money on ordinary gyms. Because it's not about physical education, but about an individual approach to the problem of injury and rehabilitation after it. Each soldier has his own story of injury, the consequences are different, so the approach should also be different. When a person is able to be physically independent and not depend on anyone, then it's a different story. You can go to the gym. Before that, rehabilitation should be completely different and depend on the type of injury.
"DARLING, I DIDN`T FIND ANY FLOWERS, BUT I JOINED THE ARMY"
- I often talk to people who have been injured and hear about the problems they face. But I don't understand why there are still no separate programs for people who have lost their eyes, for those whose faces have been severely damaged by mine injuries. As well as for patients like you. When you need a neuro-rehabilitation program and as soon as possible.
- On the one hand, I understand that medicine and social services were not prepared for such a large number of seriously wounded. But this is the third year of full-scale war, the number of wounded is increasing, and problems remain in all areas. Rehabilitation, paperwork, etc. Time goes by, but nothing changes globally in solving these problems. It was not until today that it became known what the procedure is for obtaining benefits and what a veteran has to go through. Now the Ministry of Veterans is trying to simplify it. It's nice that veterans are asked for their opinion on how best to do this to make it easier. And so that veterans can actually go to one place for any issues, and not run around to different authorities. If you need psychological support, legal advice, rehabilitation, you go and ask.
- We also need to work on rehabilitation programmes. For example, you are a strong, adult man. But after a serious injury, and with such consequences, you become virtually helpless. Don't you think so?
- This is true.
- It is necessary that a person does not look for a rehabilitation center on his/her own through friends, but is accompanied by someone.
- In this regard, it is easier for the military if the brigades have a patronage service that deals with this.
For example, I was told how it works in the Azov brigade. When you are wounded, you are assigned to a person from the patronage service who takes care of all your documents. They accompany you to the hospital. They even take care of your clothes. You have everything waiting for you, not like it usually happens - volunteers brought shorts, underpants, pants for some. Because you have been cut off from everything, and you take what the volunteers give you, or your friends or relatives bring, if they can get to where you are.
We need to do something similar in the civilian life of a war veteran. I mean, not providing things, but helping to form a social package for a veteran. You go to an inspector and he collects documents and forms this package.
Now there are many law firms that do this. But these are commercial entities that make money on this. It is not a cheap pleasure.
I have also faced issues when I don't know where to turn, everyone is switching from person to person. I was looking for lawyers on the Internet. I came across a website where it says that the consultation for military and veterans is free. And you have to write them a message first. I was so naive, so I wrote and waited. They call me and say it's a complicated issue. They offer to come to the office and talk to a specialist. And they emphasize that it is supposedly free. Then why can't you get advice over the phone?
- What was the question?
- To apply for a pension, do I have to go to my place of registration or can I apply at any branch of the Pension Fund in Kyiv? What is so difficult for a professional lawyer? I actually didn't go to the office of that company. I finally managed to get through to the Pension Fund's hotline. And an elderly woman, judging by her voice, said to me: "Son, don't worry, under martial law you can go to any Pension Fund office in any city where it is convenient for you."
- How long did it take before you got to the neurorehabilitation centre?
- About 2 and a half weeks.
- So this is early rehabilitation?
- Thank God, yes. Because it is important. The sooner you start, the better your chances of success. Therefore, this system needs to be developed and scaled up. There is a long queue at the center I visited. The state does not fund them, and they cannot develop the capacity to provide for everyone who needs it on their own.
At first, I was an inpatient there, then I was transferred to outpatient treatment, and I just came there to exercise. In addition to the hospital, another important place is the room where you have to exercise on different devices. When I was undergoing rehabilitation, there were 15 of us there on average. Some came, some left. There is no room for more. And the demand is huge because there are many people with severe spinal and head injuries. And while someone is waiting for their turn, they lose the opportunity for early rehabilitation, which significantly affects the result.
I heard that Pinchuk is opening a center in Odesa similar to the one I visited. But this will not cover all the needs. New wounded are being added to those waiting for rehabilitation.
I don't even know what the number of rehabilitation centers should be to help everyone who needs it.
- How did your rehabilitation go? Did you take small steps or did you do it very quickly?
- In different ways. There is a procedure called verticalization, which was the most difficult.
- What is this procedure?
- It goes something like this: you lie on a bench, so to speak, and you are lifted as high as possible to reach an upright stance. You have to stay in this upright position for a certain period of time without losing your vitals. I've been known to be raised to 30-40 degrees, and I just lose consciousness. You have no control over this. The doctors monitor your vitals, communicate with you to keep you in touch, and then you feel them trying to pull me round: "Vlad, Vlad...". This was a difficult stage in my rehabilitation for a very long time.
- Do you remember your first feeling when your hands started moving?
- Of course, I remember (smiles). The right side was the most difficult. I still need to train every day. And if before the war I planned my own training process, I could choose which days to train and which days to rest, now I can't do that. I have to train every day, and only have a day off on Sunday.
And during the rehabilitation phase, I trained for 8-9 hours every day, except for weekends. And it lasted for six months. Exercise machines, computerized various machines, various programs.
- I watched the video on your page of these training sessions. I wouldn't do it again.
- Which one?
- You are hung on elastic bands, they swing. And when they stop, you do push-ups on a certain surface.
-Yes, it was difficult. And it didn't happen right away. While I could still reach the handle with my left hand, my right hand was simply tied to the second handle, because I could not control it at all. Then, lying on my back, I tried to reach up to these handles.
Later I felt that the fingers of my right hand were starting to bend towards my fist. Not in the way you would now take your fingers and clench them into a fist, but a little bit towards the palm of the hand, the phalanges bend. I remember when my wife came to visit me, and I said to her: "Look, I'm going to show you something." And I showed her how my fingers started moving. It was really an event.
You perceive this better than when doctors tell you that some indicators on the devices have improved, but you do not physically feel them (smiles). And here you saw that life appeared in these fingers. It motivates you. You hold on to it, you want more progress. I tell the doctors: "Let's do more!". But they stopped me, told me that they had cases where people were also in a hurry, but this led to a setback and deterioration. So I was constantly restrained, but I kept repeating: "Let me do more, I can do it". I wanted to return to the guys at the front.
The doctors explained that my brain remembers that I can do more, and my body lives as if separately at this stage, so I shouldn't rush so as not to harm myself.
- Was it difficult to restrain yourself emotionally?
- Very much. When I had already passed the stage of moving in a wheelchair and started walking on my own, I was allowed to gradually add more weight. But I had to constantly take measurements of indicators, starting with blood pressure.
- Is the rehabilitation fully completed?
- Its most difficult stage is over. But I am not yet 100% recovered. I still have some work to do. The right leg does not work as well as the left. And although I am an independent person in everyday life, I still have this feeling in my body... How can I explain it better? Tania, do you ever have a feeling when you sit in one place for a long time and when you get up, you realize that your leg has been sitting too long, that it hurts and tingles so much that you don't even want to move it?
- It happens when I sit at the computer for a long time.
- This is the feeling I get, only all over my body. It doesn't hurt until you touch it. But when you run your palm over a certain place, you feel this unpleasant tingling sensation. It's all connected with neural networks. They recover very slowly. It is impossible to calculate when this will happen - in a year, in three years, or if it will take longer. That is why there should be an individual approach to rehabilitation after such severe injuries.
- You are a cheerful person and, in my opinion, more of an optimist than a pessimist.
- I'm still optimistic (smiles).
- Don't you ever feel like throwing everything away and shouting at someone who is closer to you at that moment?
- There is definitely no aggression if that's what you mean. As for emotions, of course, it can be different. When I compare myself before and now, you use different words to express your emotions (laughs). My wife says that I should do dubbing for films, and I swear beautifully.
- Where did your call sign Gannibal come from? Did you call yourself by that name?
- In ancient Greece, there was such a commander. How do you choose a call sign? They usually ask what you do. For example, we had a fellow soldier with the call sign "Dog Handler", and he trained dogs before he went into service. I didn't have any special story. They saw that I was bearded, brutal, healthy, athletic, and had tattoos. They said you would be Gannibal. It's good that it wasn't Сannibal. Although this topic was also trolled (smiles).
- You said you wanted to return to the frontline. Is it possible after such an injury?
- I tried to come back, I didn't want to be dismissed. I had a report that I could have resigned at the end of that year. But I still hoped that they would keep me in the service. Now there is an order to dismiss me. This, by the way, is also a topic for a separate conversation, and it would be nice if someone touched on it. I don't really understand what is happening in the Armed Forces and the Defense Ministry. Because some people are being caught out from under skirts and almost forcefully taken into the army, and there is no place for others who want to stay in the service. I understand that I cannot be a combat unit in an assault group at the moment, but I have the experience and desire, and I would like to continue my service in the army.
I consciously made my choice in 2022, although the story of how I joined the army is almost anecdotal. I went to buy flowers for my wife.
- What do you mean?
- Do you remember the strike at the TV tower in Kyiv?
- Yes.
- It happened right in front of my eyes. After that, I went to look for a place in the territorial defense. I came to one of the points where they were recording, and they said: "If you want, you can go park cars now or wait for us to call you back." I refused to park the cars. I called back a former client who had been a coach before the full-scale invasion, and he had just gone to the TDF. I hoped that he would find a place for me there.
On March 8, I went to buy flowers for my wife. Everything was closed then, but I decided to look around the neighborhood. I remembered a shop and went there. I met two military men. One of them was the same former client who was in the TDF and whom I had called the day before. We got to talking. He said that they had one vacant place. I went straight to their headquarters and went through the registration procedure. I came home and said: "Darling, I didn't find any flowers, but I joined the army."
Ten days later, I was transferred to a battalion that was being formed to defend Kyiv. So first it was Kyiv region, then Lysychansk and other settlements in the east. That's how I went to buy flowers. My wife was not very happy then, but she supported my choice. That's how my military career began.
Tetiana Bodnia, Censor.NET
