Hope for recovery emerges for a Ukrainian soldier who suffered a severe brain injury 2 years ago
A devoted father has stayed by the side of his bedridden son for two years
MODRYCHI, Ukraine (AP) — For two years, a devoted father has stayed by the side of his bedridden son, a Ukrainian soldier who suffered a severe brain injury. Passing through hospitals and rehabilitation centers, the father finds joy in every small victory of his 36-year-old son: a smile, a new word, an unexpected movement.
These milestones mark progress that the doctors doubted would ever come.
The Associated Press reported on Vitalii Shumei’s story one and a half years ago, and it went viral. It brought attention of many across the world, including Ukrainian soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk, which offered to pay for the expensive treatment that Shumei badly needed.
Shumei, an anti-aircraft missile commander, was wounded in August 2022 while fighting in the Donetsk region, which remains the hottest part of the 1,000-kilometer-long (more than 600-mile) front line in Ukraine. Shumei defended Avdiivka, a city that has since fallen to Russian forces. The battle for Bakhmut, the longest of the war, had just begun at the time of his injury.
