The Heart of Kyiv

Hello, dear readers.

My little red Sonia found the Kyiv Heart mini-sculpture ages ago. This is entirely my fault that I publish this post only now. On the other hand, I had no clue back then that I would have a direct relationship with the subject of this mini-sculpture. Life is unpredictable but this is why we enjoy it so much.

The Heart of Kyiv

This mini-sculpture tells the story of the most famous Ukrainian cardio surgeon. His name is commonly known in Ukraine. Innovator, scientist, writer. The one who saved thousands of lives and did not let the scalpel off his hands until 80 years old, but ironically died of a heart attack.

The mini-sculpture was installed in May 2021 and this is a unique case when 2 copies were installed in two places - at the building where he lived and at the building of the Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery created by him.

His rich legacy is difficult to overestimate. He was the founder of biocybernetics in the Soviet Union and one of the first to begin surgical treatment of heart diseases. Academician Mykola Amosov created a school of cardiologists in Ukraine. Trained 40 doctors of science and more than 150 candidates of science, many of whom head large scientific centers.

In addition to medical, he received an engineering education. He developed medical equipment, the lack of which he felt as a practicing doctor. He designed an artificial blood circulation device and began to perform successful operations on his equipment. In the 1960s, Amosov performed unique heart operations and was one of the first in world practice to introduce original antithrombotic heart valves. He designed more than 20 medical devices in total.

In 2008, TV viewers voted for him as part of the "100 Great Ukrainians" project - number 2 after Yaroslav the Wise.

This realistic 3D figure stands in the Museum of the Formation of the Ukrainian Nation alongside other great Ukrainians - kings, hetmans, military leaders, scholars, and artists.

But all this could be just words for me.

If I hadn't discovered one day that my mother needed heart surgery. It was not a very difficult surgery in itself. If not for aggravating circumstances. Actually, she needed two surgeries - on the shoulder joint and the heart considering her age and complicated medical history. These are two different surgeons. And everyone would like to be number two.

This was the first time in my life that I had to make this decision on my own. I choose AMOSOV NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY among several similar ones in Kyiv. I remember very clear the day of the surgery. I arrived about 8 AM before the surgery to make the payment. My mother had already received the necessary pre-operative injections and should stay in bed in her hospital ward. But she went to the corridor to see me, against the recommendations. She always does everything against... She was staggering as if drunk. But this time I was aware of her fear and it was so ... I can't find the right word. I was there her only close person at that moment.

After that, I talked to her surgeon. He was the best of all in this hospital, and he told me that there is a risk that my mother's kidneys would fail after the surgery. They even held a consultation on the day before - to operate or not. But the final decision I have to make here and now - to operate or not. Pause. I was shocked. I was not ready for this... At that moment, it seemed that I was choosing whether my mother would die of kidney failure or heart failure.

In the end, I decided to take a chance and I know it may sound terrible. I had no time to think, no one to ask for advice. But she is still alive.

All this happened in the first decade od February 2022. After surgery, patients are given a few days and then discharged for further rehabilitation at a local hospital. My mother was discharged a week before the full-scale Russian invasion began. My brother (not without incidents) took her home and she stayed at the local hospital for 4 days. When the full-scale invasion began, all the patients were sent home. She needed daily care, and dressing, but war is war. Personally I was most happy I did it before the war began.

"A bandit kills for money or just like that <...> A jealous person kills because suffering drives him to madness. The driver kills by accident. There are still wars. And here, at the very end, we, surgeons. No one calls us murderers. A noble goal. A person is in danger, the doctor courageously fights for his life, but sometimes loses. I didn't manage. What to do? But I deliberately take risks to save lives."
M. Amosov.

Staying alive

The motto of the mini-sculpture:
Click on me - and you will feel the heartbeat.

There is a button on the right of the plate. If you press it, you can really feel the heartbeat.

David Matlock, a doctor at the Peoria school campus of Illinois, noted that many people do not dare to start indirect heart massage in a critical situation, and the main reason is uncertainty about the correctness of the rhythm of pressure on the victim's chest.

During his research, Matlock asked 15 students and doctors to perform indirect cardiac massage on a mannequin while listening to Bee Gees - "Stayin' Alive", and to perform pressures at the rate of the rhythm of the song - 103 beats per minute. Its rhythm is almost ideal for the chest during indirect heart massage.