March 2025 Update
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March 23
Friends, we haven’t been doing much sitting.
Our second rotation is well underway here in the East— but this is a different kind of game. We're embedded directly in a stabilization point with our volunteer medical battalion, working shoulder-to-shoulder with medical staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who staff it permanently, as well as volunteer medical staff from PDMSH and MOAS. Our team holds down the night shift, when most of the wounded are extracted from the frontline under cover of darkness.
We work in a basement, the only refuge from the drones above and the artillery and GRAD strikes nearby.
Every day brings amputations, burns, shrapnel trauma, and pneumo- and hemothoraces. Many cases are critical, requiring chest tubes, lengthy wound and burn debridement, central lines, and intubation. In just one week, our team has participated in the treatment of over 50 patients.
In addition to stabilization duties, our team is also responsible for MEDEVAC to a nearby Forward Surgical Team (FST). We’ve already evacuated 15 casualties.
The medics here? The Pros from Dover. Quiet, competent, and stone-cold under pressure. They teach while they work. They don’t grandstand. And there is a lot to learn from them, especially in terms of prolonged field care (PFC).
Here’s a snapshot of the 15 patients we've evacuated so far:
24 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to right supraclavicular area, nose, left forearm, and lower leg; closed TBI and concussion.
27 y/o male – Penetrating shrapnel to right chest with open tension pneumothorax, pulmonary contusion; head and shoulder wounds; closed TBI, concussion, and blast injury.
33 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to both lower extremities; gunshot wounds to right and left lower legs.
35 y/o male – Bilateral frostbite of feet (Grade 1A).
37 y/o male – Multiple shrapnel wounds to head, chest, neck, and extremities; open fracture of left great toe; suspected TBI and blast injury.
39 y/o male – Closed TBI; forehead laceration with embedded glass; skull fracture.
39 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to both lower extremities.
42 y/o male – Scalp laceration (frontotemporal-parietal); closed TBI and concussion.
42 y/o male – Blast injury (13.03); corneal trauma (left eye); hand abrasions; thigh hematoma; toxic gas exposure.
45 y/o male – Gunshot wound to right side of back; hemothorax.
42 y/o male – Contusions to forehead, chest, thoracic spine, and left knee.
46 y/o male – Multiple gunshot wounds and blast injury.
51 y/o male – Blast injury and shrapnel wound to face.
26 y/o male – Gunshot wound to left thigh; blast injury; multiple gunshot wounds.
27 y/o male – Shrapnel wounds to lower extremities and buttocks.
It’s a long week already. Sleep’s a joke. The food is pretty bad. But we’re doing what we came to do. If we get the nod, we’d like to stay longer.
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March 18
Shipment on March 15: 11 boxes of hospital supplies sent to Odesa (charity fund "Vezha") - 420 lbs. Contents: IV catheters and supplies, adult diapers, supplies for tube feeding.
Also 1 box to Lviv (supplies for frontline medics), 25 lbs.
Total cost of the delivery $693.76.
We are appreciated to all our donors. Special Thanks to Mr. Bienvenido Nieves and Mrs. Michelle Nunes for their generous donations.
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March 6
From our partnering NGO in Ukraine:
Я дуже замало дякую Julia Orlova яка на постійній основі, вже 2 рік нам допомагає медициною. Лікарні, Стаб-пункти від нас постійно отримують підтримку, завдяки їй та фонду Global Disaster Relief Team Перев'язка, яка наповнюється в аптечки для хлопців та дівчат, ентеральне харчування, ліки.
Так ось, Юля я тобі дуже вдячна, що не втомлюєшся і продовжуєш підтримувати Україну. Низькій тобі уклін та зичу успіху, добробуту та натхнення.
Також хочу сказати слова вдячності Гуманітарна Нова пошта яка доставляє все це в різні місця.
Слава Україні!
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March 3
Shipment on March 01: 7 boxes sent to Kharkiv (charity fund "ETOC") - 281 lbs. IV catheters, bandages, gauzes and other wound care supplies, emergency blankets, urology and feeding supplies.
Also 1 box to Kharkiv (kid's cloth and toys).
Total cost of the delivery $863.67.
We are appreciated to all our donors. Special Thanks: to Dr. Bronfine, Vadik Soldatov, Jim Blaczkowski, Katya Poklad.
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March 1
Today marks the third anniversary of GDRT. Over these three years, we’ve accomplished so much. We’ve worked tirelessly in refugee centers, offering medical aid and comfort to civilians displaced by war. We’ve transported people to safety from combat zones, served as medics on the front lines, and trained both civilians and military personnel in first aid and life-saving care. We’ve also collected and delivered vital medical supplies to Ukrainian hospitals and front-line medics.
The war in Ukraine shows no signs of ending, and our mission remains as critical as ever. We are committed to pressing forward—but we cannot do it alone. Your continued support makes all of this possible. Please stand with us as we stand with Ukraine.
Glory to Ukraine!
