“I Will Return to Sports After My Recovery”: 17-Year-Old Maksym, Who Suffered In a Strike on Odesa, Underwent a Rehabilitation Course From the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation
Maksym from Ternopil is 17 years old. He has been practising Thai boxing for ten years, and now he is a candidate for master of sports. In July 2023, the boy was attending a sports competition in Odesa, when Russian troops again attacked the city from the air. The blast wave blew out the windows in the house where Maksym was staying. The teenager received shrapnel injuries and had to undergo chest surgery. Recently, Maksym completed a rehabilitation course at a sanatorium in Zakarpattia, which was organized by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
“Everything is great here. I go to the swimming pool and do some exercises for my arm. I could not lift it at all, but now I lift it up and straighten it. I am resting mentally too. It is quiet, there is fresh air, and I feel much better now. After completing the rehabilitation, I plan to return to sports,” the boy shares his plans during his stay in the sanatorium.
In Odesa, Maksym was preparing for the championship of Ukraine. The team came to the city in advance. At the time of the strike, he went out into the corridor of the rented flat and was injured there. He admits that his first feeling was fear. For about forty minutes they could not call an ambulance due to the problems with the telephone connection. When they finally succeeded, the boy was taken to the hospital and operated on. After the medical treatment, he went to undergo the rehabilitation course.
“Our son is starting to recover little by little. It is calm and nice in the sanatorium. Maksym goes to the treatment procedures. He visits the salt therapy room, the swimming pools, and massages. Everyone is very friendly. We are glad that we got here. I can already see the results – he could hardly raise his arm, and now he can hold both arms up, and he moves better now. I am sincerely grateful to Rinat Akhmetov for his help and support. It means a lot to people. We are just happy that there is such a person,” Svitlana’s mother shares her impressions.
The mother and son have no doubt that Ukraine will win. And after the Victory, they dream of going on holiday as a whole family.
The participants of the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. Rehabilitation of Injured Children can be children under the age of 18 who received physical injuries or wounds of any severity level during hostilities in Ukraine in the period from 24 February 2022.
An application can be submitted using the link: https://akhmetovfoundation.org/rinat-ahmetov-dityam/project/proekt-rinat-ahmetov-dityam-reabilitatsiya-poranenyh-ditey
For clarification inquiries, please contact the Foundation’s toll-free hotline: 0 (800) 509 001
