UCC nursing student braves war in Ukraine to operate on babies

The team, which travelled despite an increase in deliberate Russian drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, was based at the last remaining hospital in Ukraine with the ability to safely conduct complex paediatric cardiac surgery.

“We worked 12-hour days, six days a week,” Lena said.

“I was wrecked, but it was a most amazing experience. It was such a joy to see the babies reunited with their parents.

“You can see the signs of war everywhere, there were air-raid sirens at night, the main buildings and statues are covered up with metal grates, they have sandbags up to protect a lot of buildings, but people were basically going about their daily routines.

“The hospital had the basics and made do with what they had, but they didn’t have access to a lot of the drugs that we would use, so they have begun making their own versions.”

Chernobyl Children International’s cardiac missions, which have directly saved the lives of over 4,200 children, had traditionally been based in Kharkiv.

However, the war in Ukraine, the mass exodus of qualified medical personnel, and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities forced the team to relocate to Lviv.

Founder Adi Roche said that, despite the heightened risk in recent weeks, the surgical team decided to travel.

It is more important than ever that we continue to deliver life-saving assistance.

“The heroic 12-person team ran the gauntlet to travel to Ukraine, to help as many children with Chernobyl Heart — which is a condition that they cannot live with, but will die with, without surgical intervention.”

As Europe prepares to mark United Nations Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day on Friday, Ms Roche warned that the full extent of the Chernobyl disaster has not yet been realised, and that worse is on the horizon.

“The accident at Chernobyl happened as a result of faults in the technology and human error,” she said.

“However, if a nuclear accident happens at Zaporizhzhia, it could very well be intentional. We cannot overstate the current critical situation and nuclear threat in Ukraine.

“We must do everything in our power to prevent Zaporizhzhia from becoming the next Chernobyl. We neglect Ukraine at our peril.”

This 38th anniversary of Chernobyl will also see a shipment of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including life-saving medical and hygiene supplies, funded by Chernobyl Children International.