“Being in a state of shock, my daughter could not understand that she was injured”: 12-year-old Sofia from Mykolaiv underwent a rehabilitation course from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

Sonia [Sofia] Vasetska and her parents lived in Mykolaiv. On 20 April 2022, at one o’clock in the morning, artillery shelling of the city occurred, and a cluster shell hit the courtyard of the house where the family lived. The windows in their flat were blown out. Sonia was seriously injured. The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation helped to restore the girl’s health after a long treatment, having organized a rehabilitation course for 12-year-old Sofia in a sanatorium in Zakarpattia.

“We are very thankful to the Foundation for coming up with such an offer. We like it here very much. Everything is beautiful and nice. We are very pleased,” says Anna, the girl’s mother.

After the explosion, Sonia ran to the corridor, where some fragments of the shell reached her. According to Anna, Sofia did not even feel any pain, being in a state of shock. The girl received some through shrapnel wounds to her forearm and her chest. After the operation, the family moved to Odesa. In the sanatorium in Zakarpattia, the girl was referred to a set of procedures aimed at restoring the functions and sensitivity of the affected soft tissues, as well as at general strengthening of her health.

“All our children undergo general health improvement treatment, visit a psychologist, attend a mineral-water pool and a salt room, which has a good effect on the nervous system,” said Snizhana Chebotareva, chief physician at Borzhava sanatorium.

Sonia admits that among all the procedures, she liked a bath with lavender the most. The girl is gradually recovering. She dreams of staying to live in Odesa and becoming a journalist or psychologist, although she has not decided between the two options yet. Talking about her plans for the future, Sofia smiles.

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 during the military hostilities in Ukraine in the period from 24 February 2022.
You can leave an application request at the link
The project Rinat Akhmetov for Сhildren. Rehabilitation of Injured Children | The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

For more details or clarifications, please contact the Foundation’s toll-free hotline 0 (800) 509 001