Copyright © 2021 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

Canadian doctors and nurses return from successful medical mission in Ukraine  

Toronto, Canada (November 20, 2014) – A specialized team of Canadian health professionals recently returned home after completing a medical mission in Ukraine. The team worked alongside Ukrainian doctors and nurses in performing reconstructive complex surgical procedures on victims of the Euromaidan movement and Vladimir Putin’s invasion into Eastern Ukraine.

The mission was organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation and Operation Rainbow Canada, under the patronage of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. The medical team of 25 professionals was comprised entirely of volunteers and included surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses. The team was assembled from across Canada including Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.  Over 60 patients from across Ukraine with complex post-traumatic defects and deformities were seen in consultation. A total of 37 reconstructive procedures were performed in 30 patients. These included:

  • 7 skull reconstructions
  • 10 bony reconstructions of the facial skeleton
  • 9 soft tissue reconstructions of the eyelids, nose, lips
  • 5 burn and scar revisions
  • 6 upper extremity reconstructions
Canadian funded medical team completes 37 complex surgeries
Canadian funded medical team completes 37 complex surgeries

“This mission focused on post-traumatic defects and deformities, many of which were horrific. Most resulted from explosive blast wounds and high-velocity missile wounds. The patients presented major reconstructive challenges,” saidDr. Oleh Antonyshyn, Head of the Adult Craniofacial Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Professor of Plastic Surgery, University of Toronto. “The surgical procedures were complex, technically demanding, and time-consuming, some lasting for as many as 7 hrs  We hope to return in the near future and continue to work with our Ukrainian counterparts to provide the best possible care to those injured in the current crisis”.

Funding for the mission came from “United for Ukraine”, a gala fundraiser organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation held in September in Toronto.

“The attendance of Prime Minister Stephen Harper at our gala was vitally important and speaks to his ongoing leadership in supporting Ukraine,” said Eugene Melnyk who served as the gala’s Diamond Sponsor and is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. “With the support of more than 1,200 people and special guests like the Prime Minister and Wayne Gretzky, we were able to raise the much needed funds to support this very important humanitarian initiative.”

“This mission was ground-breaking in terms of the collaboration between medical professionals in Ukraine and Canada,” continued Antonyshyn. “To be welcomed into the surgical theatres and entrusted with the care of patients in another country is truly a privilege. This mission has allowed us to establish critical relations with medical professionals and health administrators in Ukraine, and provides a foundation for future collaborations in health delivery and surgical education.”

The Canada Ukraine Foundation is thankful for the support of Stryker Canada, who awarded the mission a grant for virtually all surgical hardware and implant materials for the medical procedures; and to Operation Rainbow Canada for providing guidance in terms of planning a mission of this scale.

“From a fundraising perspective, “United for Ukraine” was an incredible success, bringing in more than $200,000,” said Victor Hetmanczuk, President of the Canada Ukraine Foundation. “We are looking at the feasibility of a second mission and it looks very promising.”

The Canada Ukraine Foundation is also grateful to the sponsors of United for Ukraine, who made this mission possible. They include: Eugene Melnyk, Canadian Tire, Molson Coors Canada, the Temerty Family, the Ihnatowycz Family, Bell Media, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Jacyk Foundation, the Ukrainian Credit Union, Buduchnist Credit Union, Buduchnist Foundation, Caravan Logistics, Yarcia Huculak and Family, CIBC, Manulife, and Community Trust Credit Union.

[hr]The Canada Ukraine Foundation (www.cufoundation.ca) was established by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to coordinate, develop, organize and deliver assistance projects generated by Canadians and directed to Ukraine. It is a registered charitable foundation.

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!
Total
0
Shares
Related Posts

January 18: A Peace March in Kyiv

January 18 – 4 Ukrainian military were killed and 32 wounded by the Russian terrorists in the ATO are in the last 24 hours, -informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

January 18 – 138 ceasefire violations were recorded in the ATO area in the last 24 hours according to a report by OSCE observer mission.

January 18 – Ukrainians have held mass peace rallies "Je suis Volnovakha" in cities of Ukraine and abroad. The rally is similar to recent rally agains terrorism held in Paris.

January 18 – Terrorists have shelled the city of Vuhlehirsk, which is under protection of Ukrainian army. Terrorists have used "Grad" multiple rocket launcher and fired from Yenakieve direction. Two children, brothers aged 7 and 16 were killed by a direct hit in their family home. A girl aged 8, their sister, was also injured and is being treated at the hospital, – informed the Head of Oblast Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vyacheslav Abroskin.

January 18 – Militants have decided to carry out forced mobilization of the "office workers", – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko – "The leaders of the armed group "People's Republic of Donetsk" have decided to forcibly enlist employees of businesses that operate in the temporarily occupied territories and choose not to fund terrorists, in the ranks of illegal armed groups".

January 18 – Terrorists continue to shell residential buildings in Donetsk oblast, there are victims among civilians, including children, – informed the Head of Oblast Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vyacheslav Abroskin.

January 18 – On Sunday in Kyiv a Peace March commemorating the memory of the casualties of the bus which was struck by the shots of separatists near Volnovakha. The march began at the Taras Sevchenko monument and continued to Independence Square where at 3:00 PM a memorial service was prayed. Some 10,000 people participated in the Commemorative March.

President Petro Poroshenko who took part in the Peace March in Kyiv, expressed his certainty that Ukraine will regain complete control of Donbas: "We will not give up even an inch of Ukrainian land. We will return Donbas, we will regenerate Ukrainianism in Donbas, we will demonstrate that one of the extremely important elements of our victory is our unity with you," said Poroshenko, in his remarks on the Maidan after the funeral prayers for those who perished near Volnovakha.

January 18 – The idea espoused by Russia about ceasing the transit of gas through Ukraine and crossing over to a "Turkey route" by 2020 is a fantasy and it is not meant to be realized – Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the Turkish Republic, Serhiy Korsunskyj.

The Russian proposal involves the following. The underground part of the pipe from the compression point of Russkaya station will be redirected instead of to the Bulgarian harbor Burgas, to the European part of Turkey to the west of Stambul. Of 63 million cubic meters of the stated capacity of the pipe, approximately 14 million are directed towards the inner consumption of Turkey. The rest, almost 50 million, are delivered to the Turkish-Greek border and reach EU.

"Gasprom plans to build the "Turkish Stream" in circumstances when in Europe very soon there will enter into usage three new terminals which receive a diluted gas of the general strength up to 10 million cubic meters. Besides this, Turkey and Azerbaidjan have already begun the construction of the gas route TANAP, in which 10 million cubic meters will reach Germany and then Italy through the gas route TAP," notes the Ambassador. He also reminds all that on the basis of the continuous decrease of the level of consumption of natural gas in Europe (in 2011: by 10%; in 2012: by 2%; in 2013: by 1.4%), it is expected that on the European market the excess of the flowing gas will appear on the European market.

According to Konsunskyi, "the fairy tale" about the Turkish Stream isneeded by Putin in order to show on the inner market that: "Look, Russia remains the key player and there is no isolation -

China, India, and Turkey are with us."

Zakharchenko, ex-Minister of Interior of Ukraine working with Putin's close associate

Bishop Gudziak and seminarists carol in Paris metro

P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.