SIRKO Paper Cut

00:00:00 I think it's a very important point to understand because someone can think that he

00:00:00 I think it's a very important point to understand because someone can think that he okay I'm a hero something like this but actually I don't I don't think this job is heroes when you just perform simple job like not like simple just like common job nothing hero is here you know you you don't go somewhere where someone wanna kill you or hunt for you or something like this you don't live with a fear of your like everyday life it's like you have to understand this because the guy who on the

00:00:55 war on the front line they live with these feelings of the fear you like animal you understand that you am the hunting someone wanna kill you and yeah they are heroes because they perform decision go to the army so i think the guys who just perform civilian job cannot to say i'm a hero in the country reaching the war my thought if you wanted to be a hero you have to go to the army

00:01:30 to say i'm a hero because i cannot to say i'm a hero it's like for me it's bullshit well it's not for you to say that you are a hero you know it's for others that's if you're saying I don't think most actual heroes would tell you that they're heroes. I sleep at home, I can have vacation, I can have possibilities to continue my relationship with my girlfriend. It's like in Ukraine it costs so much. It costs very big amount of money. Like, not like real money you know it's it's so a big amount of this big cost to have possibility just to be at home tell me about your girlfriend how did you meet her it was very funny not very funny

00:02:26 stories it's just real life and after my night shifts sometimes i went to the coffee shop and drink some coffee it was like for me for fast dopamine something sweet coffee and go to my apartment sleep and one time i saw her and it was like you know um the bit the beating of electrician you know something like beat you like uh i never i never like feel it before and i said oh my god what's going on something's wrong it's like uh i'm i'm not broken something and we start just talking and if said firstly i can't say this now because i'm actually not resident i'm a doctor uh when i

00:03:18 have night shifts i ask my chef of residency and say oh i i need one hour to take go in post card or something like this in some store but i go i went to the to her just to have small talk one hours and after this i i uh back to the job and i it was like uh i really want to be near her and i understand it's like my um not it's like uh children my human something like this and i'm very happy that uh i i meet met here in my life in my life

00:04:03 tell me about you were saying something in the car about like uh these you know long conversations was it i mean after that moment you you felt like you were bitten did did did there come a time very quickly or immediately where you felt like you always knew her like like you can't imagine your life no it's it was it it was like uh understanding that i wanted to be near and then go ahead yeah after some months then you went away to the mobile hospital yeah and uh you came back and yeah and and we just continue our speaking and after

00:04:56 the one month i think i uh break her border you know something like this you you you cross the kill zone yeah yeah yeah yeah something like this what's uh i mean uh it's what does it mean to have found someone especially you know in you know this place where you uh you have there's so much uncertainty there there are air raid sirens you know there's uh i need translation I don't know, I was just like, he's found someone.

00:05:44 And what is, like, he has a home to come home to that really, it's not just his apartment, you know, it's something real. And I just ask him to reflect on that because he has this. I don't know. I just feel like what you have is beautiful and special and especially meaningful to me in your life that I've barely gotten to know that you have this. And to me it would provide, I don't know, I mean, a lot of comfort, a lot of, you know, it's, I don't know, you found something special.

00:06:42 And that's kind of what I want you to talk about. I say thanks to God for this. Yeah, it is a proof that God exists in your life. You can see that. So, we got to town this week. A couple of, I mean, two days ago. We met you, but, like, you came in on this case. Tell me about this wounded soldier that you walked in and you closed up on the surgery that your father just performed.

00:07:30 You wanted to know more about this soldier? Yeah, just tell me about him and tell me what you did when you came. Like nuts and bolts. Like this is what the situation was, is with him and this is what I did. This soldier had so severe trauma related to the war. Unfortunately, his leg and arm is crushed and he left his leg and arm and he had very, very difficult wound of his frontal bone.

00:08:15 of his face, of his eyes and he needed operation to perform primary reconstruction of his bone, of his frontal bone because it's connected with big and high risk of infection. And after this infection it will be meningitis and it's probably death after this. So our operation is going to give a chance these heroes to have rehabilitation and stay alive.

00:09:01 Because it's not like, you know, it's not operation when you stop big bleeding and you say, oh, everything's okay, this guy will be alive after your surgery. It's surgery which you perform for future to reduce risks of infections. It's very important because if you say about brain, about neurosurgery, you understand that possibilities of infection is very, very important. Because when it starts infection, you cannot do anything It's like a very horrible situation You have to think previously to perform this operation

00:09:52 And protect this brain from infection Something like this So it's like the type of specialization of this surgery sometimes You didn't see and you will not see like something amazing cooperation and a lot of blood, stopped blood and everything is okay. It's about the future sometimes. You have to understand that if we will not fix it now, it will be infection. After infection, it will be death and we will not fix the infection. Something like this.

00:10:30 So, especially when I came to operation room, Alex and Andrei just finished the biggest part of operation, and I just came to help with close the wound, and close the area where they work, something like this. This is the second or third time I've heard you refer to your father as Andrei. Do you call him that mode when you're talking about him rather than my father or is this when in work mode you call him that?

00:11:17 uh especially in our language we have you like uh when you say to someone who higher than you in graduate like your chef we say you but in your language it can be the boss like uh to the friend and to the chef but we have in our language the you like for the higher someone and if you say with someone this polite we use this word and i use like his full name no father or something like this no honey nothing so you're actually doing out of respect then is that what am i understanding yeah because it's like rules of the job it's like cannot to be like hello father how are you doing

00:12:07 it's like you have to build in the like uh board of your like life as a child your life as a surgeon it's like no connections have been i think so um when i met alex well first of all tell me who is alex pelage who is he the best of the best of neuro trauma here he like you know real professor here wrote a lot of books here like a big brain and you have to understand this actually other type of people they're generators you know they're living for the science they're living for the neurosurgery

00:12:57 the living force books or write books you understand like write books of neurosurgery it's like it's like i don't know how is it it's like very cool but you have to saw a lot of efforts for this it's very hard and i understand the uh people like him it's like i don't know they live in other like stratosphere or something like this for for myself because actually if not war i never will have possibilities to have to talk face to face because i'm just little neurosurgeon from ukraine this is professor for like of american neurosurgery no it's like okay man understand where are you if i uh somewhere on the conference say him hello it's for me will

00:13:48 be oh my god i will have conversation with the professor of neurosurgery and from for me it's now like oh my god it's like possibilities to have a small talk with the professor of neurosurgery you know american because for ukrainian it's like american neurosurgeon it's like oh my god it's god you know it's i i don't know you even actually saw the videos in some tv series and the guys say everyone i am neurosurgeon and they like have a party and say hello i'm neurosurgeon and someone say i'm engineer i'm neurosurgeon and it was like a lot of people and in the end they come in the

00:14:30 guy and say hello how are you what are you doing and he say i am uh i uh the driver of ir space and after this oh i am neurosurgeon and understand what this like neurosurgeon in america it's like the coolest guy it's like near president i think because you know it's like some types of god yeah Yeah, well, we, like, being called a brain surgeon in English or in America is like someone who's really smart. Like, or if something's really difficult, or if something's not very difficult, it's not like it's brain surgery. Like, or if something's really difficult, or if something's not very difficult, it's not like it's brain surgery. Or it's not like it's rocket science, is what we'd also say. That's interesting. And when you walked in, though, he was assisting you in closing it up.

00:15:17 It's like, you know, I'm so nervous about this because professor of like American neurosurgeon assists you and oh my god, it's like all time when Rokka came or something like this and the guys like them assist you and you think oh my god, they probably think that I am so stupid because you understand the guy who had experience of a lot of years and he assists you. It's like it's very very nervous yeah and sometimes I remember when I operate together with Roka and it was our in urgent operation and we don't have a lot of stuffs like in

00:16:00 American neurosurgery room you know we have like more forms like caveman what's left it you know so and uh and he assist assisted me and i think oh my god this guy will see him here like take part in museum you know something like this you could have fooled me you seem pretty cool you seem like you had it you did not look nervous that's right well you pulled it off and i forgot where i was going with this but when i when i when i started down the uh um what is it well what does it mean to just just in general that like these people come to to

00:16:49 match my club i don't understand like it clearly following alex around and seeing the people greet

00:17:00 him um you you could you could you you i i felt everybody was was was happy he was here and it meant something more than just like you know uh like that i don't know that people come from far away to to uh work with you um so what i mean is like it seemed to lift people's spirits just by by seeing him. About Alex? Yeah, I mean, just, yeah. Yeah, I think, yes, because when you saw these people in your hospital and understand, and they say, "I learn from your job," and I think, "What do you learn?"

00:17:48 "I'm just neurosurgeon from Ukraine." And you think, "Maybe I know something, maybe I can something." After this, they all time help us in other ways each they can, like supplements, a lot of stuff, all time they wanted to be here together with us. and you understand you are not alone in this world and the biggest like i don't know how to say elephant of neurosurgery came to ukraine to be near you so it's like incredible and you think that it's like very very you you're you're feeling like oh it's so cool these guys near us and

00:18:40 they help us they wanted to talk with us and you like uh spirit is higher you think oh i caused something this guy coming to work with us it's cool and also it's like you can see the other culture of neurosurgeon as a culture of people its connection it's it's very cool because if not war I think no American neurosurgeon will came in Dnepro, you know. I think probably no. So it was it was it will be one one possibility to go in the United States. But now the American neurosurgeon came to us. American journalists came to us and I'm at home in Dnepro, you know, it's something incredible. I mean Alex is sitting on your floor over here.

00:19:31 yeah yeah yeah he's in the house yeah yeah um so boy i wish i would i i i stopped to ask you about alex and you gave me such a great answer made you forget where i was where i was going with that um um let's uh let's go back for a second though um you know i've asked you a lot of things that you've said you know you feel like that you're in a therapy session or you know a psychologist or uh has there been any of this that you you'd like to answer again in ukrainian um you know you've been doing a great job so i'm all right um

00:20:19 oh yeah well i have to ask you about when the hospital got hit it's like bombing or yeah and the rocket you got knocked over during surgery um it was you know it was very funny i will start why because for me now uh we we had window in our operation room and i just for in for two or three minutes before bombing i just say anesthesiologist group okay when this window will like crush it after bombing maybe uh we'll like no window in our operation room because it's so it's so it's so

00:21:06 fear to operate in the night when we have our just not alarm if a lot of drones in dnipro a lot of rockets and you cannot to just okay alarm i go to the shelter uh anesthesiologist contain the medication and after the alarm is stopped i will continue my surgery you cannot and you just staying near this this window perform operation and this one and for me sometimes i wrote read the book name it's the war surgeon uh it's like one of the important book about the surgeries performed uh

00:21:52 surgeon in different countries like syria or something like this and he wrote about this in the book when he operated people wounded people in syria and everywhere was bombing and when i was reading this book i think oh it's like uh something about uh heroism you know it's not about heroism it's like you when you read books about the i don't know soldiers of navy seals or something like this and you think oh it's cool guy it's like about uh romantism like little romantism and

00:22:30 you save lives when bombing near you and you think oh cool guys and then after this you understand you in the same situation bombing your city you perform surgeries and i say our anesthesiologist group okay when it's like will be bombing near our hospital it's window will be crushed and maybe it will not be able will not window into the future and after two or three minutes like big bomb boom no window and i think oh i will never in future say something because it's like uh not funny and anesthesiologist same is the same and ask me not saying about future anything in this way

00:23:18 something will crush it or big bomb and they think it's like will not be happy so when it's when it's

00:23:30 coming like bombing i didn't hear the whistle you know like some drones or some rockets it just was like big bomb and first what i feeling it's like the air which go with the speed i don't know like from the helicopter or like plane near you and you like just sit i stay just staying and like you hear the flow of this air like near you some airplanes go and it's like you just stand you you cannot to just stand you have to uh take efforts uh to just stand and you hear this

00:24:21 and you don't understand what's going on and after this I open my eyes everything in gray you know you cannot to see anything because it's like a lot of a lot of dust so I think okay maybe I am still a leaf and okay everything's crushed my nurse on the floor a lot of like the stuff from the window in operation field everywhere everything in dust okay and then okay i will check oh i'm alive i have my arms my legs oh my my neck is okay i don't have like severe breathing oh everything's okay and i

00:25:07 Firstly, one thing I think after this, I know that Russians use techniques double, triple kill. What does this mean? You like bomb one time, some place, after this a lot of staff go there to help, and after 10-20 minutes another bomb, and another bomb. And thanks to this they can kill a lot of people. And I understand. Okay, if it was like first bombing, we don't have a lot of time to think what we have to do. And I ask my operation comment. I thank everybody of them. Because I was one guy in the operation room. Other was a girlfriend, like a woman.

00:25:55 Like anesthesiologist, anesthesist, nurse. and you, one man in the operation room, and I say, "Okay, everybody is okay, no one is severely wounded, we just fast finished operation and go out from this operation room and go to the shelter." Something like this. - So, it was your first thought, if you had to check if you were alive, your first thought might have been, maybe I'm dead. - Yeah, yeah. And I open my eyes and, oh, I'm alive, maybe. Oh, yes, I'm alive, everything is okay. Thanks, God, I just ask anesthesiologist, just check my back, because you have a lot of adrenaline, and you sometimes will not feel the pain, you know.

00:26:46 If something bombing or something near you is so crazy, you have a lot of adrenaline, and you will not probably understand something wrong with you. It's really, that's why I asked anesthesiologist to check my back where everything's okay so we continue. But actually I think it will be, it's like thanks God I'm alive and not wounded because it's like very very very crazy. Yeah something like this. so yeah then you the the patient's brain was exposed right it's what it's

00:27:30 thanks god it was not like big brain operation it was like uh like we perform uh puncture of subacute hematoma and i perform like little hole in the skull and perform drainage in the drainage of this gematoma and thanks god it was like the on the finish of this operation i just have five minutes to close the skin go out this patient and we leave the operation room thank god because if it's like open open brain like big brain brain operation it will be not very good because you you will need more time to close and that you said there was a lot of dust yeah yeah just i i just

00:28:20 say my nurse she is free because i understand that your hands was like something like this you know and i understand uh she's already not soldier to perform any like uh operation or something like this and they say okay since okay i will finish by myself you're just free just keep calm relax Everything's okay, we're still alive. We just keep going. Everything's okay. So just use some spirit or something like this and just close the wound. I understand the one thing, we have to finish it very, very fast because we don't know exactly what's going on. If it will be the second one, third one, we have to be in the shelter. Would you guys get to the shelter? No, we just go to clean our operation room because it was like turn off alarm.

00:29:14 It was safety for us and we just keep like cleaning all this dust to help each other.

00:29:30 Was the operating room the same one we were in today, this morning? No, no, no, it's on the first floor. It was on the second floor. It's like for planning surgeries. We have also urgent neurosurgery operation room and all operations which we perform at night in the biggest situation there in the first floor. So when I met Alex the other week, it's been very brief. I met him with a Ukrainian woman who's a professor at the same... I was telling you about how I met him. And she said that after her students said going to see him speak,

00:30:16 they talked to her and said they didn't realize that the war was still going on here. How does that make you feel? Actually, I think it's our war, you know? We don't have to have Suspectations That someone will help us Really because it's like Big world And everyone will perform The greatest thing Firstly for someone's self Not if We will think about

00:31:00 this everybody have to help us like United States Europe have to help us it's like no it's our war first of all and yes it's very important that United States Europe have to be stand with us help us because really if say about all of this thanks to our soldiers our territory our country Europe don't Europe

00:31:30 have war now in their territory because if like ukraine uh will was finished this uh war and we like don't have like victory didn't have we didn't have victory the next country is uh litua litvina Poland, other countries. And this country, all Europe, have to understand. Thanks to the lives of our soldiers, they have possibilities to travel around the world, drink coffee, and spend their time in peace cities.

00:32:18 And I understand for Americans, people, it's very hard to understand how it is, because before this war, I don't understand too how to live in the city of the country reaching the war. I understand that somewhere in Iraq Syria war, but if you never feel it before, you cannot understand really. And I wonder that people don't know how to live in conditions like this. And also I think nothing changes, you know, war for years, nothing changing.

00:33:06 That's why for people who live in other countries, like war, like in Syria, like in East, somewhere, doesn't matter, just war, nothing special, I think. just war because they don't they don't have strict connection to this you know they don't just war because they don't they don't have strict connection to this you know they don't feel this that's why i think it's normal possibilities for the mindset to the people who live somewhere in like i don't know canada iceland to not feel about uh and think about war of ukraine because it's like not their real problems now you know because you can just uh

00:33:55 think about this first year oh my god something bad but you have your own life that's why i don't like scared on the people who don't think about the war i understand why they yes i very thankful to the people who wanted to help us understand us but if the people don't understand what's going on it's only because they don't feel it what does it mean to be ukrainian what do you like as an identity i think first of all it's all about freedom you know

00:34:42 our country was all time the land of the blood and the fire we like a border of the europe for the hundred years doesn't matter which time we take all time here the border of civilizations i think by myself and ukrainians they become nation of freedom i think we are not people who wanna to war with someone to kill with to kill someone to take someone tertiary only one thing we wanna to just peace living but thanks to the history the people who fight for our freedom

00:35:33 before my generation like in u u ssr in like uh russian imperial or something like this all time was the like points of freedom in our country in the land of our country like kossacks uh how to say

00:36:03 [UKR] Ukrainian Insurgent Army. [UKR] Ukrainian Army. [UKR] Ukrainian Army.

00:36:10 [RUS] It's also both Kholodnoyarsk. [RUS] It's like the Cossack Republic in 1920, which fought against the Soviets.

00:36:27 soldiers it's like we all time fight with them for them we like you know something in this road they cannot to eat us but they cannot to forget about us because for these people i think we like they don't like us ukrainian insurgent army yeah maybe you know about this no say you say ukrainian insurgent army yeah you know you know what is this no no no and say it so i can hear it in your voice uh ukrainian insurgent army ukrainian insurgent army it's the army which fight with soviet union in the world too from ukrainian side it's like the soldiers who fight for freedom of ukraine

00:37:18 it's like all time we have the feelings of freedom we don't want to take someone territories we don't want to fight with someone we just wanted to this life nothing more but i think the first what you will have in analysis of dna of ukrainian it will be freedom i think yes we don't we don't like to have someone other us under us i think it's to be ukrainian what does it mean to you to be ukrainian to carry that legacy i think the same it's very cool to be ukrainian because a lot of people

00:38:11 and their life for our for our freedom in this war in the previous war just to become ukrainian just to become as a part of this culture to use ukrainian language to use our culture

00:38:30 just because of this the russians kill us because we are problem for them and i understand that be ukrainian it's to be freedom your father told us that you guys have a famous surname and that there's a you know a famous general ivan circo yeah can you tell me about that yeah it's the one of the coolest guy um his uh last name sirko use it by turkish to name it all dogs everywhere just to be unpolite for him because for his history he never failed battle with anyone and they named this type of the soldier cossacks

00:39:27 and also it's other type they named them i don't know how to say it's like berserk you know in scandinavian mythology the same we have in kazakh's uh history is not like soldiers it's like i don't know the guys who can meditation who can uh use not only on the strains but also mindset it's like something about they and they name it character we don't know actually it's trust or no but it's very cool myth you know about this that i they're charactering but the trust that circo was the one of the famous uh soldier one of the famous generalist and after his death the cossacks

00:40:20 take his arm with them in other missions you know they just cut his arm and go in other missions

00:40:30 because they wanted to have the part of circo when they have a battle something like this so are you saying that there are some fighters that are called circo as in berserker or are you saying like tell me what you were meaning by that that they like is is there is there a group now that they've given a name to or no circle it's the last name of the last one of the generalist yeah okay so of one of those people okay of a like one person it was one one person even so yeah yeah yeah that's what i'm understanding now okay so but he was he was a a great member of that yeah yeah

00:41:18 yeah okay i got you um is it a is it a name to live up to i mean are there expectations uh i i hope we have connections but i uh didn't perform like research no and it's not whether you have connections or not it's just it's just like um are there expectations of someone named circo in this country - Characternik

00:42:16 the cops are it's like bible of ukraine um but let's uh i'm i'm done are there other questions that i missed is there anything like logan did you have anything you're good you're that was awesome i'm i we're here much later than i alex is clapping for you famous uh professor of neurosurgery american who's snoring on your cell phone yeah well you were that was excellent that will thank you i mean you told me that but it seems like that's so much material for documentary

00:43:00 the two of you together i mean this has been a great evening well we're going to get her just to answer some stuff in ukrainian and then we're going to see the shelter and get out of here you're on a roll it was very cool thank you yeah it's very cool for us a little a little harder but cool hey it was easy it wouldn't be as cool thank you thank you so much

00:00:00 [RUS-NEEDS] Як з моменту де зупинилися, щось початку?

00:00:02 [UKR] From the moment where we stopped, where to start? [UKR] As for what inspires, it's activity, it's a feeling of being, probably, important in any of your manifestations, whether you actually somehow physically help people, or it's through conversation, or in some other way. [UKR] And I don't know, probably, it's also daily routine, that is, as banal as it may sound, but to have the opportunity to sleep properly, eat, exercise, this is really what keeps you and what can somehow keep you afloat at this time. [UKR] You mentioned that Bohdan is among the people, [UKR] who inspire me.

00:00:48 [RUS] When people ask you about him,

00:00:50 [UKR] you talk about his profession, about his work, [UKR] what he does, what do you feel at that moment?

00:00:56 [RUS] Well, I don't know.

00:00:59 [UKR] Actually, honestly, when people ask me about Bohdan, [UKR] I don't immediately talk about his profession. [UKR] First, I just tell them what kind of person he is, [UKR] because profession for me is like a component of personality, [UKR] and there's so much more. [UKR] because there are many more facts that I can tell about him. [UKR] That is, profession is not the first priority. [UKR] Well, and when I tell them, then I, probably, feel some kind of, I don't know, pride. [UKR] Well, it's cool just to share with someone what he does. [UKR] But usually it's more about like, oh, and he also jokes in a cool way, [UKR] and he, in general, is energetic, that is, more somehow like about other traits as well. [UKR] What do you hope for in the future?

00:01:41 [RUS] For our victory.

00:01:44 [UKR] I don't hope for others, not others. I'm only waiting for this. [UKR] Any personal hopes we missed? [UKR] To see our victory, to stay alive and healthy until this time, for everything to be well with close loved ones. [UKR] Did you also ask if she misses anyone who is not here, close and loved ones?

00:02:18 Thank you.

00:03:07 .

00:03:25 [RUS] Two questions. [RUS] First, did you grow up in Dnipro?

00:03:30 [RUS] Yes, I wasn't born here, but from my conscious memories I grew up in Dnipro.

00:03:35 [UKR] Tell me a little about what your childhood was like and the time when you were growing up in Dnipro. How was it? [UKR] It was good. I remember it only with some warmth, but I think I owe it to my parents, who created such an environment, [UKR] primarily in the family, where it was good for me as a child. [UKR] Because when you're a child, you don't analyze the political situation,

00:04:00 [UKR] or how much money you have left, or what, [UKR] what your parents work as, their presence is important to you, [UKR] how they play with you, tell you something and so on. [UKR] Plus I had an interesting school, unusual. [UKR] And it all generally influenced me, gave me such a creative influence, so I remember it well. [UKR] And childhood for me was happy.

00:04:30 [UKR] What, in your opinion, should the world know about Dnipro, about Ukraine now? [UKR] What would you not want them to not know, to remember? [UKR] It's difficult, to be honest, to answer like that, but probably about what kind of people are here, about how much we do every day, to just have a home or have a place where you can see your family, or where to go, or such simple things and about the fact that people are constantly losing this now. [UKR] [VO CANDIDATE] That is, that Russia, it doesn't stop and won't stop.

00:05:15 [UKR] And I would really like the world to see and know how strong we are, [UKR] and how much we do just to live our ordinary life, [UKR] which people abroad have the opportunity to live and not think about, for example.

00:05:51 [UKR-NEEDS] бути українкою?

00:06:03 [UKR] to be Ukrainian? [UKR] In general, what feeling? [UKR] And what does it mean now to be [UKR] a Ukrainian from Ukraine? [UKR] Well, for me it's [UKR] to say it with pride. [UKR] And to carry this [UKR] inside, that I'm Ukrainian, I belong [UKR] to this nation, and for me [UKR] it's something about, I don't know, some kind of [UKR] like inner strength, [UKR] which you feel, like, [UKR] I don't know, maybe from your ancestors,

00:06:30 [UKR] or from someone, but it's something like [UKR] something fundamental, that [UKR] kind of awakened in each of us. [UKR] And for me it's really

00:06:39 [RUS] about what I want to be proud of