Oksana Vishchyk
Wife of a veteran
Oksana and Serhii Vishchyky are from neighboring villages in the Volyn region. At one point, Oksana faced a choice: a career in a large construction company abroad or a life in Ukraine. She chose family.
The full-scale war began when their son was just over a year old. On February 25, 2022, Serhii joined the military. He first served in a security unit and was later transferred, in the autumn, to the 128th Mountain Assault Transcarpathian Brigade. During his service, he received the “Golden Cross” award from the Commander-in-Chief.
On June 18, 2023, during an assault near Pyatykhatky, Serhii stepped on a mine. “If there’s a good doctor, his leg can be saved,” evacuation medics told Oksana.
The injury turned out to be severe: the bone was shattered, the nerves were damaged, and only the foot and part of the leg above the knee remained intact. Doctors suggested amputation, but Oksana decided to fight to the end.
The family applied for treatment abroad, and Serhii was accepted in Norway. There, he underwent around 30 surgeries. One of them lasted eight hours: doctors stitched blood vessels, performed skin grafts, and essentially rebuilt his leg using pelvic bone structures.
This period was not only physically but also emotionally challenging. While her husband was in the hospital, Oksana lived in a refugee dormitory.
"There were also people there who were waiting for the other side, and men who had fled Ukraine by any means possible. It was very difficult emotionally,” she recalls.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that, while fighting for her husband’s recovery, Oksana was also pregnant with their second child. The family returned to Ukraine only five months after the birth of their second son.
At home, a new phase began — learning to accept a new reality. Oksana admits she went through difficult emotional states:
«When Serhii was injured, I was angry at everyone — at men on the street, at women whose husbands were at home. I didn’t want to see anyone. At some point, I told myself: enough of living in blame. He is alive, we made it through. When the full-scale war began, I realized how valuable my family is to me».
Now, Oksana works with a psychologist, exercises, and is gradually regaining her desire for life. Serhii has been demobilized and is adapting to civilian life. Doctors managed to save his leg, and he compensates for the seven-centimeter difference in length with special orthopedic footwear. He drives, takes care of household tasks, and together with his wife, they are making plans for the future.
The couple plans to apply for a veteran grant to develop their own construction business. They also dream of one day returning to Norway — but this time purely as tourists.