Perhaps this short story of myself will help you understand who I am and why I started this project. It will also give you more reasons to trust my medical qualifications.
As a child, I was surrounded by wonderful people. Because of their incredible love and support, I grew up as a very cheerful and happy girl. Even my mother called me "a special case" as if I was coming from a distant planet. At that time, I did not fully understand whether this was a good sign, but people's faith in me always gave me the extraordinary strength to try my chances even in hopeless situations. In everyday life, the people called me Allochka (honey child), a God's Dandelion (with a very soft soul), or a Goldcrest songbird (supporting people) and it gave me some extra power to test hopeless situations, and somehow, miraculously, I always managed to get that chance...
I grew up in the village and never had influential friends with powerful connections which in Soviet times was an extremely important factor for achieving any career goals. My authoritative school teacher once said: "You won't make it, because you just can't!". Then she would go on: "You don't possess the necessary knowledge because our school is too weak! You don't have the right connections to enter the university! And you don't have enough money either!". This was the worldview of that time and even my best scores in studies and great performance in the school competitions (my lowest place was third), could not bring me closer to the fulfillment of my dreams (to become a medical doctor). This was one of the biggest challenges of my life. But my approach is as follows: If you give up without trying you will regret the opportunities that you missed for the rest of your life!
So, "I have to try it anyway!" became the motto of my life. I remember all those tough moments when with zero success expected on my part, I still managed to push it through: admission to medical school and the honor of being elected as a leader of the group, becoming a nurse, after which I realized that it is worth going further; admission to medical school and the school of trials that hardened me for the upcoming future and taught me how to learn efficiently; postgraduate studies in surgery, master's degree in pedagogy, international grants, research, publications, reports and presentations at Ukrainian and international conferences and participation in their organization, teaching surgery courses to foreign students... The list goes on and on...
It is worth noting here that if even for once I had stopped believing in my luck, I would end up living on the outskirts of a small town without education and without any achievements or interesting adventures for the rest of my life.
I grew up in the village and never had influential friends with powerful connections which in Soviet times was an extremely important factor for achieving any career goals. My authoritative school teacher once said: "You won't make it, because you just can't!". Then she would go on: "You don't possess the necessary knowledge because our school is too weak! You don't have the right connections to enter the university! And you don't have enough money either!". This was the worldview of that time and even my best scores in studies and great performance in the school competitions (my lowest place was third), could not bring me closer to the fulfillment of my dreams (to become a medical doctor). This was one of the biggest challenges of my life. But my approach is as follows: If you give up without trying you will regret the opportunities that you missed for the rest of your life!
So, "I have to try it anyway!" became the motto of my life. I remember all those tough moments when with zero success expected on my part, I still managed to push it through: admission to medical school and the honor of being elected as a leader of the group, becoming a nurse, after which I realized that it is worth going further; admission to medical school and the school of trials that hardened me for the upcoming future and taught me how to learn efficiently; postgraduate studies in surgery, master's degree in pedagogy, international grants, research, publications, reports and presentations at Ukrainian and international conferences and participation in their organization, teaching surgery courses to foreign students... The list goes on and on...
It is worth noting here that if even for once I had stopped believing in my luck, I would end up living on the outskirts of a small town without education and without any achievements or interesting adventures for the rest of my life.
So, who am I? I managed to come up with this list of answers:
• I'm a happy woman and a mother of two beautiful children;
• Ukrainian patriot;
• The founder of the social project "Ukraine for Ukrainians! Ukrainians for Ukraine!"
• A volunteer by calling;
• Holder of two higher education degrees: in medicine and pedagogy;
• I possess two doctorate degrees: surgery and endoscopy;
• Candidate of Medical Sciences (PhD) in surgery;
• A teacher;
• Lecturer at the Department of Surgery N1 of Kharkiv National Medical University;
• Researcher
My scientific career was interrupted by war. Before the full-scale invasion, I worked at the Department of Surgical Diseases of the Esophagus and Gastrointestinal Tract in the State Institution “Zaitsev V.T. Institute of General and Urgent Surgery of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine” in Kharkiv. I was involved there as a scientist and researcher, taking part in various international projects.
My believe is that the most important thing in life is to put all your heart into every endeavor that you undertake. The same is true for any relationship you have. It is this dedication that drives us forward and brings results. I'm telling this from the bottom of my heart and my personal experience.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 changed my life dramatically, as it changed the lives of millions of other Ukrainians. So many things and opportunities were lost not to mention the loss of lives of many friends and colleagues. Thank God my children are safe and thank God that I didn't have to start my career all over again!
My experience and expertise allowed me to re-orient my life in a completely different direction while remaining useful to our mother Ukraine. It was not easy. There were many obstacles on the way and the path ahead still remains difficult. Yet there are so many wonderful people around who are sincere, honest, and attentive to other people's pain! These people are the real treasure of our difficult times.
Since the beginning of the war, I have been helping people with relocation from Ukraine to Romania.
One of my friends the mayor of Sinnicolaou Mare Danutza Groza, when requested, stayed with my children in Romania in order to help refugees by collecting them at the train stations, settling them in the city, preparing all the necessary paperwork, obtaining the status of a temporary protection, assisting them financially, helping with school, kindergarten and hospital. I also helped refugees with translation and accompanied them around. Together with Danutz Groza, Mayor of Sinnicolau Mare, and Alin Nika, Mayor of Timisoara, we organized a fundraiser for hospitals in Ukraine. We also gave interviews at several press conferences organized by the city. We managed to raise funds and purchase drugs, supplies, and medical equipment according to the needs of specific hospitals. We had to watch it closely to ensure that all the humanitarian aid we collected was delivered to designated civilian and military hospitals as well as to the frontline. This aid was than distributed to six Ukraine cities: Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Dubno, Rivne and Khmelnytsky.
To ensure the safety of my family, in June 2023 I came to Vienna, Austria. Here I began providing voluntary aid to arriving Ukrainians who need medical assistance. Together with many Ukrainian refugees who fled to Austria from war, I went through a very humiliating and difficult path to become a person with the status of temporary protection. However, I did not apply for any social benefits that war migrants are offered as a matter of principle and pay for my accommodation myself.
Today, I still work at the medical university but receive no financial reward for this work because my contract is "temporarily suspended due to the wartime". Still, I keep working with publications and reports.
I stay with my interns and provide them with medical support by phone and online. I also provide online consultations to my patients from Ukraine. I do it for free.
I provide psychological support to my students from Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine (at the medical university, I had 90% of English-speaking groups).
I continue supporting our soldiers at the frontline. Mostly by fundraising. But only for targeted groups to minimize associated risks.
My new YouTube podcast “Medicine in the Patient's Language” provides patients with easy-to-understand medical recommendations. The problems that it addresses are related to situations when patients are leaving the doctor’s consultation with more questions then they had before it. This usually happens because the doctor automatically uses professional language and overwhelms the patient with medical terminology. Actually I am also guilty of this sin 🤷. During my clinical practice, I have found a way of communicating with patients, often through the so-called translation of medical information into the patient's language. There are also recurring questions from my patients that will be easily answered on this website. I also plan to create a course of lectures on surgery for students in the future.
Ukraine for Ukrainians and Ukrainians for Ukraine
My second big project is called “Ukraine for Ukrainians and Ukrainians for Ukraine”. What is it about? With the russia’s full-scale invasion to our motherland the whole world opened doors to the Ukrainian refugees. Many of my fellow countryman moved from home. But are they always met with understanding in different counties? My podcast is for the Ukrainians and about Ukrainians as well as for those who’s hearts are opened to the love of Ukraine. I would love to support those who really need it in times when the media is full of hatred and propaganda. I want to add something positive to their lives, something that could inspire them and give motivation. I want to show to the world the best side of Ukrainian people!
Since 2002 I worked without a single holiday. Once during settling the formalities with my PhD, I was approached by the secretary with the complain that the phrase “currently working” is present in five places in my CV. We started to check it and discovered to our mutual surprise that I indeed work in five different places at the same time: Assistant at the Department of Surgery No. 1 of KhNMU, researcher at the Department of Esophageal and Gastrointestinal Surgical Diseases of the State Institution "Zaitsev V.T. IGUS of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine", consultant doctor, endoscopist at the medical center "Victoria," part-time postgraduate student in surgery at the State Institution "Zaitsev V.T. IGUS of NAMSU" part-time master's student in pedagogy at the Higher School of KhNMU.
Now I understand that life constrains taught me to move forward in spite of all the hardships and become a winner in various difficult situations. This is why most of my seemingly unsolvable challenges turned into my by greatest achievements. My personal motto was always “Never give up!”.
Rich experience and active social commitments defined my exigency towards other people and myself independent of their level of education and position: to be decent, honest, professional, persistent and efficient. This is why I never hesitate to tackle new horizons, always ready to learn something new and trying to share my skills and knowledge with others.
That was my short resume.