If you talked to Dmytro, you would be surprised by his optimism and ease. After all, since the moment of injury, the soldier had to go through a lot of pain, suffering, and accepting himself after amputation. The first months of numerous operations were hell for a soldier, and only strong painkillers relieved his suffering.
But any storm eventually passes away, and only the strongest ones get up and move forward. Those like Dmytro Kolesnyk, a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who lost both legs in battles near the village of Urozhayne in the Pokrovskyi direction in April 2023.
Dmytro is currently undergoing prosthetics and rehabilitation at the Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics clinic in the USA, starring in the documentary, and has many plans for the future. Read the incredible story of a soldier who survived both legs' amputation and didn't give up but started a new life.
Dmytro is from Kryvyi Rih. He served under contract in the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine. When the full-scale war began, a man was transferred to the operational battalion to shoot down enemy drones over his city.
“Then the commander decided to go to the front and took me with him. He called me when my vacation was ending, and said that from now on I would be a mortarman. That's how I ended up at ground zero, in the Pokrovskyi direction,” the defender says.
Dmytro recalls that the period from September to November 2023 wasn’t difficult at the frontline. The russians launched mostly spying drones, without intensive shelling. But after three months, when a soldier returned from a rotation, the war became completely different.
“It was impossible to get out of the dugout — the drone immediately finds you and drops ammunition on you. Although it was hard, we continued to fire and counterattack, we had no way out. We were holding defense of Urozhayne in the Pokrovskyi direction.”
In April, Dmytro and his comrades were sent to ground zero for an urgent replacement. On the way back, the men received a signal on the radio: “The drone is behind you, there will be an attack!”.
“I felt a blow under me, then opened my eyes and felt a mad rush of adrenaline, fear, there was no one around me. I try to get out of the jeep, but suddenly I understand: something is wrong with my legs. A comrade grabbed me and pulled me towards the forest strip. I remember the footage of our car burning and my left leg…. all cut up and lying on the right one, like a rag”.
Dmytro says he saw a drone in the air, ready to drop another munition. The man pretended to be dead, the drone spun around a bit and dropped the explosives again on the military jeep. “It was 15 minutes of fear and despair alone,” the defender recalls with horror. But suddenly an armored combat vehicle appeared on the horizon, and wounded soldiers were seen. When the comrades put the seriously wounded Dmytro on a stretcher, he screamed from pain and dehydration and then passed out.
Dmytro Kolesnyk came to his senses in the hospital in Pokrovsk without his left leg.
“It was a state of shock. I have tubes everywhere, I can’t talk, and don’t even remember who I am. Then despair seized me: who needs me now?” the man recalls.
The fighter was reassured only by the fact that his right leg had more or less survived. But its condition was bad — crushed bones and torn tissues did not allow the left to heal. The only way out was amputation to the knee, otherwise, due to a severe infection, Dmytro was in danger of death.
“I cried and screamed in pain. I don’t remember much, but I still don’t know how I endured that terrible torment. My beloved was always there for me, constantly supporting me.”
In the hospital, the soldier spent most of his time on strong painkillers. After the amputation, Dmytro was taken to the Central Hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But his condition did not improve. A second operation on his right leg showed that the bone inside was rotting, and the leg was subjected to re-amputation.
“Two more weeks of hellish pain, from which nothing could save me. I began to have panic attacks. Morally, I was crushed. But a month after the operation, the pain almost disappeared. I could already touch and press on the amputated limb. I started physical training.”
After a week of physical training, Dmytro could stand upright on both limbs, and after two more, he could turn on his left side, which worried the man the most, and also keep his balance and catch a ball without falling.
As soon as Dmytro survived his darkest times, his life changed dramatically for the better.
“I managed to do so much after the amputation that I haven’t done in 30 years of my life! I became the main character of the documentary “Steel”, overcame my fear, and started swimming. After a day of filming in the pool, my phantom pain in the leg disappeared. Now I want the same high-tech prostheses as Vlad Kurilov, a participant in the prosthetics program from the FFU foundation. They seem to be my key to a full-fledged life!”
Now Dmytro is undergoing prosthetics and rehabilitation at the Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics clinic in the USA and is actively training to walk on new bionic prostheses.
On the way from Ukraine to America, another “for the first time” happened to Dmytro — his first trip by plane! The veteran has many plans ahead — to continue his acting career, open his own business, and also be a Superman who walks barefoot on glass and in slippers in winter 🙂 Life after prosthetics is just beginning. You just have to not give up!
We thank the MCOP prosthetics and rehabilitation clinic for the opportunities for our heroes to live actively and build their future even after severe injuries in the war.
