Page 38 - Chiron 2024

‘The chances of Ukrainian soldiers returning to normal life are ruined – many are technically blind’
by Tom Ogilvie-Graham
Since the visit mentioned below, I have been back several
more times, getting to areas
near the frontline such as Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and east of Odesa. In addition to organising over 3M Euros in surgical equipment into the right hands, including military hospitals, I’ve organised bursaries for young Ukrainian ophthalmic surgeons
to travel and gain experience in countries ranging from the UK to New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Palestine. I was able to grant free registration and help with travel for over five hundred Ukrainian surgeons to join the largest annual ophthalmic conference in the
world which is one of the things
I am in charge of. The last of the attachments is the award from the Ukrainian military, their Medal of Honour, the highest award granted by them to a civilian.
As well as helping Ukraine, I’ve also set up major projects with eye charities in Jerusalem, Malawi, South Sudan, Mozambique, South Africa, Nepal, and Bangladesh, amounting to over 500,000 Euros annually. I frequently visit these places to ensure the aid is used most effectively.
After serving as a Brigadier in the British Army for thirty years, Tom Ogilvie-Graham, sixty-two, now manages an ophthalmic organisation, the European Society
of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), which has raised nearly €3 million in equipment and medical supplies in order to aid the Ukraine war effort.
Mr Ogilvie-Graham, who is equipped with a background of delivering aid in conflict and post- conflict zones, has personally seen equipment and supplies delivered
to areas in Ukraine in dire need. “We wanted to help Ukrainian eye surgeons, and we felt we could target this a little bit better than just putting money in or general medical aid.”
but be affected by what he saw in Ukraine: “You think you have seen a lot of conflict before, a lot of unpleasant things, you cannot help but be affected by it.
“Particularly for me, being ex- military, seeing young soldiers who just a few months ago were students, architects, doing any kind of job, and leading a normal life.
“Now, they are in uniform, which means they are soldiers, but the chances of them returning to normal life are, in many cases, ruined - as they are technically blind.”
Through reaching out to their network of eye surgeons in Ukraine, ESCRS quickly established what specific aid was needed the most and in which parts of the country. They then put forward €200,000 into buying essential drugs and medical instruments, and funded subsequent campaigns
to onboard
companies
able to deliver
the specialised
equipment
necessary to
care for the eye
injuries they
were treating.
Mr Ogilvie-Graham explains how Ukrainian soldiers, who are unused to the idea of wearing eye protection in combat, are facing injuries to
the eyes from artillery as they are constantly dealing with shrapnel. “Thirty per cent of major traumas involve eyes, and quite worryingly, it is very often several areas of damage to the eye - such as cornea trauma - and very often in both eyes.”
Despite having experienced delivering aid in conflict zones before, Mr Ogilvie-Graham describes how he could not help
Mr Ogilvie- Graham
describes how it is not only regional trauma centres that are dealing with eye surgery, but also small eye surgery clinics
who are also treating any serious cases that come their way, including soldiers.
“One of the things I have been pretty set on doing is ensuring that material we are providing gets to all the different centres that might need it - ranging from the main military hospital in Kyiv to quite small clinics in the areas like Izium that are under Russian occupation.
“Izium is the last place I went, and the hospital there is very nearly destroyed. They have been doing all the operations in cellars - and
“You think you have seen a lot of conflict before,
a lot of unpleasant things, you cannot help but be affected by it”
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