April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month (LLLDAM) in the United States. More than 5.6 million Americans live with amputated limbs or congenital limb differences. Nowadays, this is more relevant than ever for Ukraine as well. According to preliminary estimates, since the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, more than 100,000 Ukrainians have lost one or more limbs as a result of shelling or hostilities.
The Future for Ukraine joins the international LLLDAM informational campaign, because for us, it’s not just another support campaign. Over the past two years, the foundation has provided modern prosthetics and rehabilitation for 32 veterans with complex amputation cases for over $2.1 million. The Prosthetics of Ukrainians program is implemented through grants, donor contributions, and the support from patron Vadym Stolar. The story of each defender is a real hard path of formation and struggle for a better life.
“We see their victories and how they learn to live from a new point. We also support those defenders who still have this difficult path ahead. Our goal is to strengthen the voice of Ukrainian veterans with amputees in the global community and show their indomitability, dignity, and endurance,” says Olena Nikolaienko, President of FFU in the USA.
Society may not realize what a difficult “internal war” a veteran goes through after losing a limb, to come to terms with a new body, and learn to live with it. This is a long path of self-acceptance after trauma, which is often complicated by public opinion and the lack of a mechanism for adapting military personnel to civilian life after amputation.
Therefore, the campaign’s main goal is to inform society about the challenges people with limb loss or difference face, to give support, resources, and education to those people, and to inspire through real-life stories.
The Story of Vladyslav Kurilov
2.5 years have passed since 24-year-old National Guardsman Vladyslav Kurilov lost both legs due to a front-line injury, and almost a year since Vladyslav underwent prosthetics and rehabilitation under the Future for Ukraine program at the Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics in the US. Daily training helped the man quickly master the prostheses and get a job.
“You just have to keep moving. It will get easier over time. In a year, or maybe even less, you will be able to walk normally. I managed to do it in 4 months.”
Today, Vladyslav Kurilov is a customer service manager at the international prosthetics center MCOP Ukraine, which will soon open for patients in Kyiv. Vlad’s day begins at 7 a.m. He puts on his prostheses, does his household chores, and goes to work by public transport. The veteran’s daily route is an hour in the subway and 600 meters on foot to his new workplace. Vladyslav spends about 10-12 hours a day on his prostheses.
His work responsibilities include keeping records of contracts, communicating with patients, and introducing them to the gait optimization program. A veteran with lost lower limbs who actively spends all day on prostheses is the best role model and incentive for those who are starting the path of prosthetics and accepting a new self after amputation.
“Someone is worried that their residual limb is losing weight too quickly. Someone is uncomfortable with a new prosthesis, but these are normal processes that need to be gotten used to. It is easier for a patient to trust someone who has already gone through this,” says Vlad.
When asked if Vlad has adapted to life with prostheses, he answers firmly and without hesitation:
“I knew I would walk if I put in the maximum effort. I can say that I have already fully adapted. Even in my dreams, I walk on prostheses, it is already an inseparable part of me.”
Farhad Ostovari, Doctor of Physical Therapy, a practicing rehabilitation specialist at the MCOP Ukraine, explains that the goal of prosthetics is not just to return a person’s ability to walk again but to teach them to do it confidently. After all, losing a limb is not only about physical pain, loss of balance, and discomfort, it is also a deep emotional trauma.
“Proper physical rehabilitation during prosthetics should give motivation, show what opportunities a person gains instead of focusing on the loss, and help the brain recognize the signals of the prosthesis instead of the native limb. This might sound fantastic, but that is what we do every day at Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics. We strive to change the deeply rooted opinion in society that a prosthesis is about limitations.”
For reference:
Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics is an international prosthetics center for military and civilian personnel with lost limbs of any complexity.
The center has been an official prosthetics partner of the US Department of Defense for over 18 years and has over 20 years of experience working with military injuries of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MCOP has 12 centers in the United States. Now, a branch of the center, MCOP Ukraine, has begun its work in a test mode in Kyiv. American colleagues share their experience with Ukrainian physiotherapists and prosthetists. The official opening is planned for early summer.
