A teenager survived a nighttime strike by Russian kamikaze drones on Kyiv, suffering serious burns to his respiratory tract and corneas, and was rescued by doctors at ‘Okhmatdyt’.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Explosion and Rescue: Details of the Tragedy
During a massive nighttime attack by kamikaze drones on Kyiv, one of the enemy drones hit the entrance of a high-rise building where 15-year-old Ivan lived. After a powerful explosion, the boy and his mother rushed to escape from their smoke-filled apartment. They lived on the seventh floor, while the fire broke out on the third. The combustion products rapidly spread through the stairs, creating a deadly threat for all residents.
“On the stairs, it became hard for me to breathe; there was too much smoke, my eyes were burning, and my vision started to blur. I was holding the dog in my arms and realized that we both needed air; my mom was on the floor above. Between the first and second floors, I opened a window to breathe and called for help,” Ivan recalls.
Rescuers managed to pull the boy from the smoke-filled building, but part of the stairs collapsed, trapping his mother under the debris. Unfortunately, she could not be saved.
Treatment and Recovery of the Teenager
Ivan was urgently taken to the National Children’s Specialized Hospital ‘Okhmatdyt’. After examination, doctors found he had carbon monoxide poisoning and hospitalized him in intensive care. A bronchoscopy allowed them to diagnose second-degree burns to the trachea, larynx, and bronchi. Additionally, after consulting with ophthalmologists, it was determined that the boy had suffered burns to the corneas of both eyes.
In the intensive care and apheresis unit for acute and chronic intoxications, Ivan underwent detoxification therapy. The doctors cleared the boy’s lungs of plastic and soot particles, which helped prevent further poisoning of his body.
“The patient received detoxification, anti-edema, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory therapy to reduce inflammation and help the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract heal. Inhaling smoke from plastic is very dangerous. Fortunately, the boy got to fresh air and under medical supervision in time; otherwise, the consequences could have been tragic,” noted Svitlana Storozhuk, acting head of the thoracic surgery department at ‘Okhmatdyt’.
After stabilizing his breathing condition, Ivan was cared for by ophthalmologists. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the ‘Okhmatdyt’ medical team, the boy was fully treated and has already been discharged from the hospital.