This past November Nikolai, a Ukrainian colleague, was in a serious car accident with two of his children. Timothy, 19, was in a coma for several weeks due to massive brain swelling while Elisey, 10, suffered a concussion as well as a fractured pelvis and jaw. Nikolai himself had a concussion, head trauma and broken ribs.
Elisey was released from the hospital on December 3 and continues to recover at home. Nikolai is back to work but still recovering. Timothy is now out of his coma but will need a long period of rehabilitation according to Oleg, another colleague who saw Nikolai just before the New Year. At that time Timothy needed to learn to swallow and speak again. “It’s hard to say how much damage his brain sustained since he didn’t communicate much,” Nikolai confided to Oleg. He clearly saw that Timothy had some memory loss but he was able to recognize everyone.
Would you please continue to pray with us for Tim’s full recovery as well as for continued healing for Nikolai and Elisey? Please also pray that the family would have the financial means to shoulder all the medical expenses; as mentioned above, Timothy especially will need a long and expensive rehabilitation now that he is out of his coma.
Nikolai is an ombudsman and commissioner of children’s rights to the President of Ukraine. His main task is to protect the civic, economic and social rights of children in Ukraine as well as guarantee that all of Ukraine’s international commitments are in keeping with children’s rights. He is also a co-founder of the Alliance for Ukraine Without Orphans.