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School of Nursing and Midwifery student braves war in Ukraine to operate on babies
26 Apr 2024
21-year-old UCC nursing student Lena Guénebaut-Cudmore supported babies and their parents in Ukraine through her volunteer work with Chernobyl Children International-funded cardiac surgical missions. Picture: Chernobyl Children International
Despite the 12-hour days, it was 'such a joy' to see babies reunited with their parents
A young nursing student from Cork braved war and the threat of nuclear disaster to help save the lives of babies in Ukraine.
21-year-old Lena Guénebaut-Cudmore, a first-year nursing student at University College Cork (UCC), has just returned from Lviv where she volunteered to be part of the latest Chernobyl Children International- funded cardiac surgical mission, which performed life-saving cardiac surgery on babies born with congenital heart defects, such as the deadly Chernobyl Heart.
The team, which travelled despite an increase in deliberate Russian drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, was based at the last remaining hospital in Ukraine with the ability to safely conduct complex paediatric cardiac surgery.
We worked 12-hour days, six days a week,
I was wrecked, but it was a most amazing experience. It was such a joy to see the babies reunited with their parents.
You can see the signs of war everywhere, there were air-raid sirens at night, the main buildings and statues are covered up with metal grates, they have sandbags up to protect a lot of buildings, but people were basically going about their daily routines.
The hospital had the basics and made do with what they had, but they didn’t have access to a lot of the drugs that we would use, so they have begun making their own versions.
Chernobyl Children International’s cardiac missions, which have directly saved the lives of over 4,200 children, had traditionally been based in Kharkiv. However, the war in Ukraine, the mass exodus of qualified medical personnel, and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities forced the team to relocate to Lviv.
The heroic 12-person team ran the gauntlet to travel to Ukraine, to help as many children with Chernobyl Heart — which is a condition that they cannot live with, but will die with, without surgical intervention.
Baby Dmytro’s life-saving cardiac surgery was funded by Chernobyl Children International. Picture: Chernobyl Children International
As Europe prepares to mark United Nations Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day on Friday, Ms Roche warned that the full extent of the Chernobyl disaster has not yet been realised, and that worse is on the horizon.
The accident at Chernobyl happened as a result of faults in the technology and human error. However, if a nuclear accident happens at Zaporizhzhia, it could very well be intentional. We cannot overstate the current critical situation and nuclear threat in Ukraine. We must do everything in our power to prevent Zaporizhzhia from becoming the next Chernobyl. We neglect Ukraine at our peril.
Ms Guénebaut-Cudmore endured the risks of the war in Ukraine to perform surgeries on children. Picture: Chernobyl Children International
Founder Adi Roche said that, despite the heightened risk in recent weeks, the surgical team decided to travel.
