This patient provided consent for the use of their image, name, and personal story.
The destruction of Mariupol is our most profound collective trauma. Today, we share the story of Natalia Yukhmanova, a 39-year-old economist who once called this city her home.
Although Natalia was born in the village of Zhuravychi in the western region of Volyn, her family relocated to Mariupol in her infancy; she had spent her entire life there.
Not long ago, Natalia believed she would continue to live in her beloved city for many years to come. Now, that life is just a distant memory.
On February 24, 2022, all of Ukraine awoke to the distant sound of explosions and the terrifying news of the full-scale invasion. For Mariupol, the threat was already at their doorstep. Natalia, her husband, and their two children were among the first to face the onslaught. Their situation, like so many others in Mariupol, was particularly dire and the circumstances demanded immediate action.
So the family began the day by hurriedly packing their go-bags—referred to as tryvozhna valiza, or “anxiety suitcases,” a term now tragically familiar to each and every Ukrainian. Afterward, they sought shelter in the corridor of their apartment building, as there were no accessible bomb shelters nearby or even in their neighborhood more generally.
Their reality was profoundly surreal: on one hand, they were desperately hiding their children from the intensifying explosions; on the other, they were somehow struggling to keep up with completing their monthly work reports.
On February 28th, Natalia recalls that she heard explosions nearby while at work. By this point, the situation in their neighborhood had escalated to a critical point. Realizing these very real hazards, Natalia returned home, where she and her family members anxiously retrieved the “anxiety suitcases” they had packed on that terrifying first day of the full-scale invasion–somehow at once four days and an eternity ago. They headed to the city co-living space, or “dormitory,” in the city center. Though moving there was, to put it mildly, less than ideal, this shared space would at least have a basement, water, and electricity.
But on March 2nd, a mere two days later, these essential services vanished–and with them, the ability to cook food or recharge phones. But the latter source of concern quickly became moot; within hours, occupiers had severed all cellular connections.
This development left absolutely everyone in the area unable to contact loved ones or in any way make sense of the chaos around them–a common tactic of Russian terror used against civilians in occupied regions.
Natalia and her family then realized they had only one other housing option–staying at her mother’s office, where her parents were sheltering–but it was just as dangerous. So, fighting through the paralysis of fear, they made plans to leave their city on March 16th.
But just one day prior, everything changed. Around 4:30 PM, Natalia left the children where they would be safe in the basement shelter while she helped her family members carry their belongings down the five flights of stairs from their temporary residence in the dormitory. They believed–and for good reason–that it was necessary to remove their things at this time, because the next day was rumored to be the final window for evacuation. So, they hurriedly moved between the deafening arrivals of ballistic missiles. But as they reached the second floor, a massive explosion shook the building, and at that moment, everyone inside realized the terrifying force of enemy fire and how close the danger truly was.
And from that moment on, their lives were divided into "before" and "after."
Though her husband was wounded in the blast, he still somehow managed to coordinate transportation to a functioning hospital for Natalia and her mother. Thankfully, their children remained physically safe in the basement throughout this attack–but their psychologically, things were otherwise; they thought and feared that both their parents were dead for two full days.
When the parents and grandmother were finally able to return to them in a barely functioning car, no one could hold back their tears.
But there was no time. They had to depart–immediately–on another lengthy and terrifying journey to the relative safety of the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhya. Natalia admits that she doesn't remember much of the journey; due to what she had been through, she was unconscious for most of it due to the trauma she had just endured. Today, she still struggles to accept and integrate her new reality.
In September 2022, she was referred to Oleksandr Turkevych, our Chief Scientific Officer at Neopalymi. Over the course of her ordeal, her body had been pierced by numerous pieces of shrapnel.
And today, her treatment is still far from over. Now, our primary goal is to help Natalia regain a sense of normalcy–a future where she can once again look in the mirror with pride. Thus, laser skin resurfacing and other such efforts achieved with the restoration of her appearance in mind are central to our present efforts. It is a challenging process, but eminently worthwhile for the sake of a better future–for Natalia as an individual, for her family, for her community, for Ukraine as a nation, and by extension the world more generally.
While the past cannot be changed, it is possible not only to heal its wounds but to move forward. Over the past year, Natalia’s dreams have shifted. When we last spoke with her, she shared her most cherished hope: to take her youngest son to school on his first day of first grade in September 2023.
She told us how she dreams of the day when her son will be proud of his beautiful Mom. At Neopalymi, we are committed to making that dream a reality, believing that Natalia’s smile will shine brighter than ever once she receives the treatment she needs.
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