“Darina’s arrival in Israel is the essence of our mission.”
By Pesach Benson, United With Israel
A nine-year-old Ukrainian girl injured during a Russian bombing will be flown to Israel in the near future for medical treatment, Ynet reported on Tuesday.
The girl, identified only by her first name, Darina, was badly hurt by shrapnel when her home in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv was shelled by Russian forces in March.
Darina was initially treated at a hospital in Kyiv, but requires more complicated surgery to save her legs. She was transferred to an Israeli field hospital in Mostyska, near the Polish border. Darina and her mother will be taken to Poland and then flown to Israel where she will receive further treatment at the Sheba Medical Center’s Safra Children’s Hospital in Ramat Gan.
“Darina’s arrival in Israel is the essence of our mission as part of the humanitarian expedition to the Israeli hospital in Mostyska,” Prof. Asaf Vivante, told Ynet. Vivante, a member of the Israeli humanitarian delegation to Ukraine, is also the director of Safra’s pediatric ward.
“On a personal note, it’s hard to describe the great privilege of reaching out to people whose world came crashing and showing them that there is hope within this great chaos,” he added.
Vivante told Ynet that Darina will be admitted to the surgical unit at Safra where she will be treated by specialists in pediatric orthopedics, “and we will continue to accompany her throughout the rehabilitation process, until she recovers.”
In one photo released by Sheba, Darina and her mother are scene with matzah and a Passover seder plate. In another, she was visited by Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky.
The field hospital, named Kochav Meir (Shining Star), opened in March. The ground-breaking field hospital incorporates virtual reality and telemedicine technology allowing doctors in Israel to immediately diagnose the patients in Ukraine.
Kochav Meir, which operates on the grounds of an elementary school, is staffed by 80 Israeli doctors and 20 other medical personnel. The field hospital has delivery rooms and wards for both children and adults.
The field hospital’s activities are currently scheduled to end on April 30.