Recovery Center Helps Ukrainian Soldiers Deal with Effects of War

Recovery Center Helps Ukrainian Soldiers Deal with Effects of War

Some Ukrainian soldiers are spending time at a recovery center designed to help them deal with the harmful effects of war.

A Ukrainian military commander created the recovery center in Kharkiv. The building served as a long-term rehabilitation¹ hospital when Ukraine was part of the Soviet² Union.

Army commander Oleksander Vasylkovskyi said the recovery center is able to treat both physical and mental conditions. "This rehabilitation is helping³ soldiers, at least for a week, to put themselves together," he told The Associated Press.

Vasylkovskyi remembers how soldiers suffered silently after returning home from fighting Russia in Ukraine's Donbas area in 2014. Suicide rates among veterans increased in the following years, with many untreated cases of post-traumatic stress disorder⁵. Vasylkovskyi says he hopes such centers can raise awareness⁶ of the need for mental health care and prevent suicides in the future.

Soldiers visiting the center are offered a series of different treatments. These include water therapy in a hot pool to heal muscle pain, red light therapy to improve heart and blood circulation and a salt room to improve breathing. Some also receive electrosleep therapy — a method of electrotherapy that some believe can calm the nervous system and cause sleep.

Psychologists are also available at the center to advise soldiers and their families.

Vasylkovskyi says visitors also have full medical examinations. "It's the most important thing because a person develops several illnesses from the stress of fighting."

"If someone has trauma⁴ and cannot walk, my department will put them back on their feet," said Artem. He is a physical therapist working at the center who only wanted to give his first name for security reasons.

More than 2,000 soldiers have been treated at the center since it opened in June. It receives support from international partners in Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland, the United States and Spain. The cost of one day of rehabilitation for one soldier is around 20 euros, Vasylkovskyi said. But more financing is needed, he said, "because (the war) is not over."

One soldier treated at the center spoke⁷ to the AP. He only wanted his first name, Viktor, to be used. He said he worked as a miner before joining the army. He took part in the military operation that pushed Russian occupying forces out of the Kharkiv area.

For months, he said he slept in cold, wet trenches⁹. "We worked in conditions that were bad for our health," Viktor said. "We have back pain, leg pain, we carry heavy equipment."

But after four days at the rehabilitation center, Viktor said he felt reenergized. "I'm already determined¹⁰ to go further, continue my work, destroy the enemy, and bring us each day closer to victory," Viktor said.

One of the most desirable things about the center might be the fact that soldiers have the ability to bring family members along to spend a few days with them.

Maksym, who, like Viktor, did not want to give a last name for security reasons, had not seen his wife and son in five months. One of the hardest parts of the war, he said, is when "you cannot connect and speak to your loved ones."

He was able to spend a few days with family at the center. "I can see that men are returning to the unit after a week, rested and gaining more strength," Maksym said about time spent at the center. "And the thoughts that they had before go away."

When asked how many soldiers he served with were lost in the war, Maksym lowered his eyes and said, "Too many."

Words in This Story

rehabilitate¹¹ – v. help someone live a normal life again after they had a serious illness of spent time in prison

post-traumatic stress disorder – n. a mental condition in which a person suffers severe anxiety and depression after a very frightening or shocking experience

therapy – n. a treatment that helps someone feel better or grow stronger

stress – n. great worry caused by a difficult situation

trauma – n. severe and lasting¹² emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience

illness – n. sickness

trench⁸ – n. a narrow hold dug in the ground

damp – adj. slightly wet in a way that is not pleasant or comfortable

determined – adj. wanting to do something very much and not permitting anyone to stop you

 

unit – n. a group of people living or working together, especially for a particular purpose

1 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

9 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。