Hearing Some Good News

Pavlo Chernenko is an amazing man. When the war started in February 2022, he and his wife had three children, and she was pregnant with the fourth. As a father of four, he was not required to sign up to be a voluntary soldier. However, he was an experienced officer during the conflict over Crimea and had participated in the Maidan revolutions in 2013, seeking Ukraine’s freedom. 

When Russia attacked, Pavlo immediately signed up to participate in defending his homeland. He packed his bags, sent his family to a safer area of Ukraine and headed off to war. He even had to supply his military equipment and clothing for the volunteer military unit.

On March 16, 2022, his life was forever impacted after being severely wounded by an RPG 22 grenade hitting the vehicle in which he was traveling. The projectile flew through his left arm and exploded five yards away. As a result, his left hand was torn away, and the grenade shrapnel damaged the bones of his left forearm, tore ligaments of both knee joints, damaged his left ribs, and caused a serious concussion. The head injury was diagnosed as a contusion with neurosensory hearing loss. We would define this as a traumatic brain injury. 

He was taken to the military hospital and since then has had 20 operations to help repair and heal the damage to his body. He was medically retired from military service, which also meant an end to his government support of his continued recovery. He recently underwent another surgery trying to restore use of his left hand. How many more surgeries he will need is still being determined. All of this loss happened to this courageous man who wanted his children to grow up in a free and independent Ukraine. 

During a recent hospital visit, Victoria Rybchynska met and talked with Pavel. She organized a meeting and introduced him to Serhii Basarab (see picture) and Music Mission Kiev, where we recognized an opportunity to support this family. A very practical way we could aid Pavel was to purchase and give him some specialized hearing aids to help him hear his wife and children. 

In a recent visit to our office (see picture with Vika), Pavel shared, “I want to thank Music Mission Keiv for the purchase of hearing aids. I can hear with both ears now and am very encouraged as I am starting to experience improved hearing in my left ear. I hope that in six months my hearing will be fully restored, and I can give these aids to some other fighters who need them...

To date, I have been actively involved in volunteering. I joined forces with some guys and created a United Biker Front. We make motorcycles with carts to send them loaded down with humanitarian aid to the front for our soldiers.”

Thank you for the considerable help for this wonderful family man who is overcoming great challenges and still looking for more ways to serve and support others. Together, we are making an impact in real ways for real people. 

Thank you, Pavlo, for your incredible bravery and service to Ukraine.