The medical evacuation of individuals with chronic conditions and reduced mobility is one of PAL-UA’s core activities. Initially, during the early days of the full-scale invasion, our efforts focused on evacuating children with cancer and those in critical condition (see the foundation’s history section for details). However, the growing demand for this specialized service has expanded our mission to include people of all ages with various medical complications, evacuating them from high-risk areas in Ukraine.
Currently, our evacuation operations include:
November 2022
Even in times of war, a person with a group 1 disability will not be left without hope when the PAL-UA team gets involved.
The morning of 29 November began for Galina Viktorovna with a very special event. The girl has lived in her native country for 27 years. Not so long ago, she had no idea that February 2022 would change her life forever. The terrible word ‘war’ entered her life, and the lives of millions of her compatriots. From then on, the world changed. From then on, the real world was a daily struggle for survival. It was necessary to survive ‘against all odds’, but for a person confined to a wheelchair, this is not an easy task.
A special evacuation flight of the PAL-UA team set off for its destination. The task did not seem too difficult – to evacuate the man and deliver him to the railway station at the appointed time. There was only one problem – the man who could not move on his own lived on the 14th floor. Elevators in the frontline city practically do not work, and narrow stairs are not very convenient for moving goods.
The driver drove the iron horse quickly through the streets of Kherson, hurrying to the apartment located in the Shumensky district. Outside the car window, he could see the building of the Holy Trinity Church. It was not far away. The main thing was to act quickly, because another patient had to be taken to the same evacuation train. When the rescuers arrived at the address, they heard shooting, and the sound of machine gun fire no longer frightened them as it did in early spring.
We had to walk up to the 14th floor; the lift was out of order. We knocked on the door and entered the apartment. A visibly worried Galina did not even smile, looking at us suspiciously. We quickly gathered ourselves and started evacuating the girl to the first floor. Strong muscles and steel endurance did not let the rescuers down this time. Going down the narrow stairs, the guys talked to Galina, trying to calm her down and cheer her up. They followed a well-established algorithm.
The girl was being loaded into the ambulance amidst the sound of gunfire, explosions – artillery was firing. We had to drive very fast, the train leaves at 12.00, and there was another person waiting for help.
We got into the car, and the ambulance driver pressed the gas pedal. The car rushed towards the Central Station, Shumensky Park, and the Regional Scientific Lyceum – the roads of the frontline city are very dangerous during shelling. The girl with frightened eyes left her home not of her own free will. This is the new reality in which the war has turned the lives of millions of Ukrainians upside down.
The ambulance moved through the streets of the city, manoeuvring gently and rapidly gaining speed. With every passing minute, Halyna calmed down more and more, her eyes filled with the warmth of gratitude and confidence that everything would be fine now. And even though she had to leave her home in her favourite city, where she had lived for 27 years, now she remains alive. And she will come home, she will come home for sure. As soon as our guys finally defeated the enemy and liberated the country.
The central railway station, an evacuation carriage, a girl in a wheelchair being taken to the passenger compartment. Galina looks at the guys, guys she didn’t know an hour ago, had never seen in her life. These people did everything to give her, Galina, an opportunity that thousands of her countrymen do not have – the opportunity to live in peace, not to shudder from explosions and shooting, not to wake up at night to the sound of air raid warning. The girl looked at her rescuers and smiled sincerely, her eyes shone with gratitude and a deep sense of human happiness – she was happy again.
The rescue crew was about to embark on another journey. The tasks were the same. To evacuate, to save, to give people hope that everything will be fine. This is what the guys and girls of PAL-UA work for every day and without rest. They have given thousands of Ukrainians hope for salvation, working to the point of exhaustion, sparing neither themselves nor their equipment. They wake up, work, rest and work again. The equipment works with them. The equipment works thanks to the team and unscheduled repairs. Donations for the restoration and purchase of new equipment help them to work.
JULY 2022
My 13-year-old daughter and I were in Nikopol, Dnipro Region, when the war began. Our hometown is across the Dnipro River from Enerhodar where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located. I remember being very scared in early March when Russian troops occupied the plant. The following morning, thousands of parents rushed to evacuate their children. I didn’t have the means to do it. My husband had died the previous autumn from an illness, and I was left alone with my disabled child. During the following five months, the occupiers kept quiet, and we calmed down a bit. The real horror began in July when they started pounding us with rocket fire each night. I was too scared to sleep. At that point, I decided to evacuate my child to safety. But nowhere was safe in Ukraine, that’s why I decided to evacuate abroad. I looked up volunteer organisations and reached out to them for help. I got a response from Marina of PAL-UA, a very kind and compassionate person, who offered help in evacuating us to Poland and then on to Germany. And we accepted. Marina contacted a carrier and the following day we were evacuated. Thank you for everything!
In the heart of conflict-ridden Toretsk, PAL-UA has emerged as a beacon of hope for the community. Beyond delivering crucial medical and humanitarian support, the team undertook an extraordinary rescue operation in the summer of 2023, saving Tetiana from the perils of military shelling. Tetiana, a patient on crutches, urgently sought evacuation to reunite with her mother and daughter in Rivne region. The mission, a test of courage amid danger, unfolded in the midst of ongoing shelling, demonstrating the unwavering commitment of the team. Tetiana’s poignant accounts of hospital shelling and the challenges in the frontline city left an indelible impact on the mission members. Undeterred by fear, the team pressed forward, fulfilling their duty and preserving the life of this remarkable woman.
The emotional crescendo of Tetiana’s reunion with her daughter was unmatched. Together with Tetiana, her mothe-in-lawr, and daughter, the entire team shared a profound sense of sympathy and joy, knowing they had orchestrated a remarkable rescue. This narrative stands as a testament to the heroism of the PAL UA Medical Mobile Mission team. Venturing fearlessly to the frontlines, they exemplify dedication in delivering aid and saving lives during the most perilous moments.
Currently, PAL-UA owns a fleet of ambulances, which are operated by highly qualified medical teams. And every day we work on the implementation of new projects aimed at saving the lives of Ukrainians.
One of the main challenges we faced during evacuation missions was the lack of comprehensive medical information about patients. Often, refugee patients arrive “pigs in a poke”, carrying almost no medical information about their medical history or current condition. To mitigate potential complications, PAL-UA took a proactive approach, carefully planning for every possible situation and unknown condition that may arise during transit.
Before deployment, PAL-UA crews establish communication channels with nearby hospitals, arranging for emergency care if patients require a level of care that our ambulances cannot provide. This proactive measure ensures that patients receive the necessary emergency medical care upon arrival at their destination.
© 2024 PAL-UA
