WEBVTT - Made with VTT Creator 00:05.518 --> 00:13.999 position:50% align:middle We were at home on the 24th of February. At five in the morning, my friend called me and said: "Katya, get up, the war has started. Pack your things, gather the children. 00:13.999 --> 00:23.338 position:50% align:middle You have two hours. In two hours the tanks will be here". Why it happened. Her husband was a military man. He knew that this was all that happened, that happened on the border. 00:23.338 --> 00:30.832 position:50% align:middle Then we talked to him. He said: "I woke up in the morning, went out to the balcony to smoke and heard explosions." The tanks reached us quite quickly. 00:30.832 --> 00:39.773 position:50% align:middle On the 24th, we got together with the children. You know, I woke up first, then went to bed. My husband said: "Who called?" I said: "'Zoriana' - 'And what did she say? 00:39.773 --> 00:48.524 position:50% align:middle You know, and I started to realise what had happened, and I started to get ready, got the kids up. 00:48.524 --> 01:19.923 position:50% align:middle Myroslav, being the kind of child who needs time to wake up, posed a challenge in the rush. Despite our initial hopes that the war would not last long, it had indeed begun. 01:19.923 --> 01:26.252 position:50% align:middle After gathering our essentials, we headed to the village where my parents lived. Little did we know that we were entering a dire to the hell. 01:26.252 --> 01:36.458 position:50% align:middle The village was Mashanka in the Trostyanetskiy region. On February 24th, there was fighting close to the art college, just one bus stop away from us. 01:36.458 --> 01:51.665 position:50% align:middle The situation was quite intense; everything was under fire, including the art college. Fortunately, my children didn't witness it as they were with their grandparents. 01:51.665 --> 01:59.824 position:50% align:middle However, within 24 hours, tanks reached our village, and we couldn't comprehend why they would target such a small place. When discussing the situation with friends, 01:59.824 --> 02:05.701 position:50% align:middle they assured me that it wouldn't escalate into a large-scale war like the Second World War, as the current conflict primarily involved artillery and was expected to be different. 02:05.701 --> 02:22.006 position:50% align:middle I remember, when my child played in the street we heard some noise, I just turned the head and saw the tank. I just put my son in the yard. And they were riding there in a whole column, 02:22.006 --> 02:37.309 position:50% align:middle sitting on tanks with machine guns. It was so scary and so wild for us. After this situation, my son Myroslav really started to scary the loud sounds. Later was the occupation. 02:37.309 --> 02:47.055 position:50% align:middle We were with my parents, then they started to give us the “green corridor”. The hardest was not that situation that we did not have electricity, 02:47.055 --> 02:52.368 position:50% align:middle the worst was that we did not know what I needed to give for eating to my children. All those products that were in the refrigerator I took them off. 02:52.368 --> 03:07.825 position:50% align:middle Mother of my husband gave us the flour. The nights were especially terrifying due to the active artillery, and the uncertainty of where airplanes were heading heightened the fear. 03:07.825 --> 03:26.567 position:50% align:middle In Symu city, around March, the use of air bombs intensified the anxiety. The family experienced four shellings in Symu, with one hitting dangerously close. 03:26.567 --> 03:34.339 position:50% align:middle The panic and fear left a lasting impact, especially on the older son, Matviy. He withdrew from social interactions for two weeks, 03:34.339 --> 03:48.283 position:50% align:middle immersing himself in reading news and acting as a conduit of information for the family. The lack of electricity during such times posed challenges, limiting their ability to recharge electronic devices 03:48.283 --> 03:57.079 position:50% align:middle Myroslav, my youngest son, continuously asks about the sound of sirens, expressing fear that airplanes might be in the air, and they will bomb again. He questions, 03:57.079 --> 04:18.971 position:50% align:middle "Mom, will people die?" His eyes still reflect the fear when he hears sirens, indicating his lingering anxiety. On the 22nd of February, our family went to a doctor, 04:18.971 --> 04:34.629 position:50% align:middle initially assuming Myroslav's repeated inquiries were related to adenoids. The audiologist suggested treating the adenoids first before conducting audiometry to address potential health concerns. 04:34.629 --> 04:45.506 position:50% align:middle . However, their focus shifted abruptly on the 24th when the war began, diverting attention from medical matters. 04:45.506 --> 05:00.243 position:50% align:middle Later, I evacuated with my children to Germany and stayed with a friend for four months. During our stay, our appartment was situated near the airport, 05:00.243 --> 05:19.193 position:50% align:middle whenever Myroslav heard the noise of an airplane, he would become frightened and sit down. I initially thought he was adapting to the new environment. 05:19.193 --> 05:26.227 position:50% align:middle Upon our return to Ukraine, I found myself occupied and didn't fully grasp Myroslav's problem. 05:26.227 --> 05:34.650 position:50% align:middle At the age of five, he struggled with speech, and upon resuming communication in his native language, he started to reask me all the time. 05:34.650 --> 05:50.912 position:50% align:middle Subsequently, we consulted a doctor in Sumy for audiometry, which revealed that Myroslav could only hear at 50% capacity and required auditory prosthetics. 05:50.912 --> 05:57.968 position:50% align:middle Reluctant to accept this diagnosis, I suggested seeking a second opinion in Kyiv, hoping it was a mistake similar to a previous situation with my older son, who, 05:57.968 --> 06:08.836 position:50% align:middle despite an initial recommendation for immediate heart surgery, eventually had a successful outcome without immediate intervention. 06:08.836 --> 06:10.836 position:50% align:middle I clung to hope that Myroslav's case might also prove to be a misunderstanding. 06:11.697 --> 06:20.952 position:50% align:middle I took Myroslav to Kyiv for further consultation. In the summer of 2023, we visited the Institute of Hearing in Kyiv, where they conducted audiometry. 06:20.952 --> 06:41.201 position:50% align:middle The results confirmed that Myroslav needed auditory prosthetics due to hearing impairment. The doctors were keen to understand the cause, but my pregnancy had been normal, 06:41.201 --> 07:08.204 position:50% align:middle and there were no incidents that could have affected the child's head. The stress during the war, however, seemed to be a significant factor affecting his hearing. 07:08.204 --> 07:16.785 position:50% align:middle Prior to the war, he did not experience such issues. We live in the Sumy region, which was and is a perilous area. 07:16.785 --> 07:25.392 position:50% align:middle Every night, around 10 pm, we encountered drones flying over our house, and sometimes there were even rockets. 07:25.392 --> 07:34.474 position:50% align:middle Can I leave my house and be somewhere else? I will be honest; I lived in Germany, and I really want to live at home in my own land. I am a teacher of Ukrainian language. 07:34.474 --> 07:43.997 position:50% align:middle My children, who were in the 11th grade, are now in the war. They call me sometimes. Once, I remember a boy called me and asked where I am. I answered that I am abroad the Ukraine, 07:43.997 --> 07:50.339 position:50% align:middle and he asked me if I would return home. I was honest with him and answered, “Why do I need to return?” He said to me, “I am in the war because I want my children to live in Ukraine, 07:50.339 --> 08:00.760 position:50% align:middle and teachers like you can educate them”. So, I returned home to show that we can live in Ukraine. Our 22-year-old children died in the war for our life here