When many Ukrainians came to help clean the rubble of the missile-destroyed Okhmatdyt, the biggest maternity hospital in Ukraine, and Ukrainian rescuers assisted its shocked and wounded patients, the parallel work was ongoing to save children who could no longer resume their treatment. Germany's Klinikum Stuttgart, with its Olgahospital, the largest children's hospital in the country, was among the first to provide their help.
Two babies who were being treated at Okhmadyt, aged four and ten months, have no idea what happened on that terrible July 8th. However, as they grow older, they will come to realize that they survived Russia's bombing of Ukraine that day, forever bound by the grave risk they faced.
Both babies are critically ill, suffering from infections, organ failure, and complex disorders requiring surgery.
The older child has short bowel syndrome, which causes serious digestive issues and problems absorbing nutrients. Due to the child's very young age, daily medical attention is critical to keeping them alive. While doctors have not shared the younger baby's diagnosis, a Klinikum Stuttgart spokesperson reveals that their condition has significantly improved since arrival at their hospital.
"This child has already been in the operating room, and we have examined the situation in detail. The child will be treated in the next few months and will undergo several operations," explained hospital spokeswoman Annette Seifert.
Interruptions in medical care are always dangerous for such young patients as well as traveling this far.
However, there was little other choice. Given that the Ukrainian sky is closed for civil aviation, both babies managed to arrive at Klinikum Stuttgart only on July 18, ten days after the missile attack.
"The children were taken by land to Poland, then flown via a charter flight to Nuremberg, and finally transported by ground to Stuttgart," says Dr. Christoph Wihler, who served as an intermediary between facilities to arrange medical care for the patients.
Unfortunately, transporting sick Ukrainians abroad for medical treatment they cannot safely receive in Ukraine remains extremely challenging. However, the whole procedure for German facilities and their medical bureaucracy is already well-established, as it has been used since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The initial request for accepting the patients came to me through the Kleeblatt. Based on the patients' medical condition, I consulted our board and individual hospitals to see if it would be feasible to take on the case. After receiving positive responses from all Stuttgart agencies, I passed the approval on to Kleeblatt Southwest and then to the GMLZ. After the EU/GMLZ assignment to our facility, transportation was organized."
This was not the first time Klinikum Stuttgart had taken Ukrainian children under their care. In the early days of the war, the hospital accepted several children for cancer treatment.
"It is an act of solidarity to help these innocent victims of the war. I am very grateful for the dedication of our skilled teams. We will give our very best," said Professor Jan Steffen Jürgensen, CEO of Klinikum Stuttgart.
With time passing, the Okhmadyt hospital is already being rebuilt and restored to some of its previous capacity. Officials have announced that some departments have already resumed operation. As for now, however, these children continue their treatment where they are, with Professor Jürgensen securing them state-of-the-art medical care.
