"It was in this hospital that for two weeks, together with my husband Andriy Svyst, we provided help," Olga Svyst found herself at the scene of the terrible events again.

- The victims had various types of injuries - bullet, shrapnel, mine-explosive, traumatic, limb amputations." 

Olga and Andriy are doctors from Irpen.

Like most people in Ukraine, the war caught them by surprise. 

"On the 24th, we still went to work, a nanny came to our children," Olga recalls.

- But we decided that the next day in the morning we will take the children to a safe place to my parents, and we will return home ourselves, because we have work, we are doctors, we knew that we would be needed."  

"We planned to leave the children's documents with them, because we agreed with friends who did not refuse us to adopt our children if we do not return." 

While most people were leaving Bucha, Olga and her husband made their way back to the hospital. 

"It was Saturday, around 3:30 p.m., I remember it very well," says Olga.

- Information has appeared in the medical community that the city hospital needs doctors, anesthesiologists, and surgeons.

We talked to the head doctor, found a contact, he immediately said that they do not need surgeons, but neurosurgeons are very necessary, since they are not available, but there is a boy who is 20 years old, and he has a bullet wound in the spine." 

On February 27, active fighting began in Buch.

Columns of enemy equipment broke into the territory of the city, and the city hospital became a stronghold for those who wanted to live.

Among them is seven-year-old Katya.

"She had a penetrating wound to the head, she was admitted together with the injured members of her family - mother, brothers and father.

The eldest brother and mother died because the injuries were incompatible with life.

And Katya managed to be operated on, and she recovered quite quickly - the very next day she was transferred to the ward," the doctor recalls. 

The hospital became home not only to the patients, but also to the entire medical staff, while fierce fighting raged all around.

As soon as the shelling began, the medics hid in the corridor.

They spent most of the nights there.

When it calmed down a little, they just slept in the wards. 

"In one of the wards were the girls Katya and Sofia.

The window was closed because the children were afraid of open windows, - recalls Olga.

- They asked us to stop the sounds of gunshots, they could not understand why this was happening.

They were very courageous, no one threw tantrums, no one was capricious, children supported their parents, set an example for adults.

At some point, we realized that the girls needed to have their hair done, because their hair had traces of gunpowder, dirt, and blood.

There was no centralized water.

They heated water with a kettle and washed.

It was a difficult procedure because they had wounds that needed to be covered.

It's hard to see how the soap foam with blood flows from their hair.

I kept asking myself the question: why are these children suffering so much?"

The fighting intensified.

Olga and her husband did not know whether they would see their children or whether they would leave the hospital alive. 

"It was like an eternity - those two weeks - and Olga still feels what she experienced.

- The last time I went to Irpin home to get some changeable things, I took two photos of children that were on my table.

And they were with us, these two photo cards.

And everyone who came to our ward always said: we will definitely survive, because such beautiful children are waiting for you.

It was a very motivating moment - to survive and reach the children." 

Many lives were saved in the occupied hospital in two weeks.

The operations were actually carried out in field conditions: with a generator in the operating room, without heat and central water supply.

One of those who was actually brought back by a team of doctors from the other world was Serhiy, an emergency services officer, who was wounded on the territory of the Gostomel airport on the first day of the war. 

"They left to put out the fire and did not know that an enemy landing force had landed there, so their car was rammed and they were ordered not to leave anyone alive," Olga recounts the story of Serhiy, a DSNS officer.

- He had a bullet wound in the head and also a wound in the hand.

Since the shot was in the head, everyone thought he was dead.

In fact, he remained conscious for some time, even calling his relatives.

Serhiy was serious, he was operated on twice." 

"I was also one of the victims.

I was very scared.

But when I realized that I was already in the hospital, I stopped being afraid, because I was surrounded by very nice people," says former hospital patient Oleksandra Filipchuk. 

You definitely recognized this girl.

Her photo with an amputated hand went viral in a matter of hours.

The life of 9-year-old Oleksandra was saved by a team of local doctors.

"During evacuation from the city, their car was shot," doctor Olga tells how Sasha and her parents tried to escape from hell.

- They hid in the basement for several days and still managed to get to the hospital.

The injury was severe, and Sasha's arm was amputated.

Sasha was the first of the children to get out of bed and start moving on her own.

She reassured her mother and wanted to go home on March 8." 

On March 7, the occupiers entered the hospital. 

"We had worked out a plan to limit their aggressive actions in the medical facility," says Olga Svyst.

- They called the nachmed, he came out for negotiations.

We turned off the lights, hid in the wards, turned off the phones, because they were actively checking what people had on their phones, and we had enough to record everything.

But it was dark in the hospital, the corridors were quiet, the doors were closed.

Therefore, they did not visit us.

There were wounded children in the wards, and we watched through the window as the Orcs took down the flag of Ukraine." 

Bucha was completely occupied.

It became clear that it is dangerous for both doctors and patients to stay in the city.

On March 10, as soon as the occupiers confirmed the "green corridor", the medical staff and all the patients of the hospital left the hell. 

"When we got to the unoccupied territory, we sincerely cried, because we were glad to see our police officers," recalls Olga.

- Then we formed an escort with a police car to get to the hospital quickly.

After all, the wounded children were exhausted." 

Exhausted, but alive!

A third of the patients were admitted to the capital's hospitals.

Currently, most of the victims are being treated abroad.

"We are very pleased when you go to Instagram and follow the children who were in our hospital, and now everything is fine with them," rejoices nurse Yuliya Martynovych, who saved the lives of children and adults together with her colleagues for two weeks. 

"I'm very glad that it's all over and I was given the best prosthesis in America," says 9-year-old Oleksandra Filipchuk, who is still undergoing rehabilitation.

"I miss my family and friends very much and I believe in the Victory of Ukraine." 

And Andriy and Olga did not stop in their struggle for a moment - they are currently mobilized military medics.

The couple received the "National Legend of Ukraine" award from the hands of Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

"I thought it was a raffle, but we received an official invitation and went," Olga admits.

- This is a reward for everyone who was in Bucha.

The mission of any doctor is to save lives and preserve health.

And we continue this mission."