23-year-old nurse from Lisychansk, who lost her legs due to a mine explosion, got married

For centuries, people have tried to articulate the qualities of true love. Thousands of phrases on the subject became quotes. Their definitions often contradict each other. After all, it is difficult to fit such an overwhelming and multifaceted feeling into the framework of ordinary words. But there are things that say more than a thousand words about love. We will talk about one of them in this article.



The life of Oksana Balandina, a 23-year-old nurse from Lisychansk, is divided into two unequal parts. The first was a normal peaceful life in a house by the river, the upbringing of two children, the management of household farming.



The second began on March 27, when Oksana and her future husband Viktor went to receive humanitarian aid. Returning home, they decided to shorten the path a bit. “I have known this path for a long time, we have been there since childhood,” Balandina recalls.



I was walking a little ahead, my husband and a friend stopped, and then I saw a projectile sticking out in the ground. I wanted to show him, turn half-turned and just managed to shout: “Look, look!” He's looking, and I'm coming.

Victor, who was following his wife, was miraculously not injured in the explosion. And Oksana was left without legs and four fingers on her left hand. The girl did not even lose consciousness. She was the one who led the shocked husband. “If it wasn’t for Oksana, I don’t know what would have happened,” he later told Reuters.



The ambulance arrived quickly. But doctors were afraid to take Oksana from the mined path, deciding to wait for the Emergencies Ministry. Her husband and stepfather took her to the road. And then there was the local hospital, and four surgeries.

"I didn't want to live." On the morning of March 28, after sleeping and resting from surgery, I saw that I had no legs. Doctors had to amputate a third of their hips. There was only a thumb left on his left hand. When it happened, I screamed, asked to kill me. I didn't want to live. I didn’t want my kids to see me as disabled. But thanks to the support of relatives, acquaintances and strangers, I had a second wind. I will live for my family, says Oksana.



In Lisychansk, the girl was given first aid, wounds were treated and stumps were formed. And three days later they were evacuated for further treatment in Dnipro and Lviv. All this time, Victor did not leave his beloved for a minute, supporting and helping to maintain the presence of the spirit. “God does not give trials that we cannot pass. So we will be fine, he said.

Wedding in the hospital room Oksana with Victor together for 6 years and bring up a five-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son. Therefore, they decided that it is no longer necessary to postpone life for later. And we had a wedding right in the room of the Center for Surgery, where instead of guests there were doctors and patients.



They bought the rings in Lviv, the cake was baked by volunteers. And only the wedding dance of the newlyweds turned out not as they once dreamed. After all, the groom always had to hold Oksana in his arms.

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In the near future, the couple have a trip to Germany, where Oksane should make prosthetics. After that, she dreams of hugging her son and daughter. Due to the incessant shelling of Lisychansk, they were forced to move to the Poltava region and very miss their mother there.

@ksyucha_kareglaska #Pump up - Djigan & Slider & Magnit



Meanwhile, the courageous girl started a TikTok account, where she shows the process of her rehabilitation. Oksana believes that it helps not to give up other people who have suffered terrible injuries in this war.

In conclusion, I wish Oksana and Victor happiness. We hope that the good they will receive in their lives will compensate for the tragic losses. And their lives will be long, happy and filled with love. You can express your support for Oksana on Instagram or TikTok.