Soldier Oleksii Solovey, call sign KOKS

. I want to tell my story myself calmly and honestly. Just as it is today.

In 2018, I completed my compulsory military service, and at the end of that year, I signed my first contract with the 92nd Brigade. I served in the ATO near Avdiivka. Back then, I didn’t yet understand how fragile life is and how quickly it can change.

In 2019, I met a girl. We fell in love, made plans together, and dreamed of a future. She convinced me to leave the army, and I agreed. But at the end of that same year, she tragically died in a car accident. That loss broke me. For a long time, I couldn’t find a reason to keep going.

That’s why in September 2021, I signed another contract with my old brigade the 92nd. At the time, I didn’t value my own life. I wanted to be where it was hardest and most dangerous. I didn’t understand how precious the very ability to live really is.

I faced the full-scale war in Kharkiv region. Our unit was stationed on the outskirts of Kharkiv and in the Kupiansk area.

On September 22, 2022, while carrying out a combat mission, the brakes on our vehicle failed. We made an emergency stop for repairs. I only remember a powerful explosion. I thought it was an airstrike. The blast wave ripped the straps off my helmet — it flew off my head. Shrapnel hit my head.

Then came darkness. My brothers-in-arms later told me how they pulled me from under the vehicle and evacuated me to a stabilization point in Shevchenkove. Then came hospitals in Kharkiv and Kyiv. I regained consciousness only at the end of October. I had been in a coma the whole time.

My first memory was a sharp, electric-like pain in my leg and the voice of a doctor checking my body’s responsiveness. The right side worked. The left did not.

I lay in Kyiv for a month. My relatives raised money, and at the end of 2022, they sent me to a rehabilitation center in Modrychi. I was completely bedridden. In one month, they got me back on my feet and taught me how to walk again.

After that came medical boards, the Institute of Neurosurgery, and surgery to insert a titanium plate into my skull. A short rehab and then home again. Then came the Military Medical Commission, the Disability Evaluation Commission. I was assigned the second disability group. They said I didn’t qualify for the first “the hole in your head is a centimeter too small.”

It was only after the injury that I truly understood the value of life. I survived where I easily could have died. And now, I treasure every single day. I want to live not just to “exist” — but fully and actively. I want to be useful to myself, to my loved ones, to society. I want to have goals, to move forward, to grow.

In 2023, I paid for another rehab course in Modrychi out of pocket. Since then, I’ve only had access to two-week rehab sessions twice a year in Poltava. That’s not enough for my condition.

I love fishing. I try not to shut myself in at home. Sometimes I go around the region with a relative — he’s a sales rep. For me, that’s a chance to be among people, to feel life, to stay connected to the world.

My dream is to study IT. But after a severe traumatic brain injury, any kind of learning is hard. Memory issues, poor concentration, quick fatigue — these are all consequences of the injury. I know that quality, specialized rehabilitation could give me a real chance to pursue this dream.

That’s why I need a course at the Western Rehabilitation and Sports Center of the National Committee for Sports of the Disabled of Ukraine. It’s a chance to restore functions, strengthen both body and mind, and regain an active life after the war.

The war isn’t far away. It’s very close. It’s in my head, in the titanium plate, in the left side of my body which fights every day for each movement.

Thank you to everyone who is by my side.

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The fundraiser for rehabilitation for severely wounded defender Oleksii Solovii, call sign KOKS, has been successfully closed.

The need has been covered. The rehabilitation course has been completed. Ahead lies continued recovery and the path toward a full life.

We sincerely thank everyone who contributed through donations, sharing information, and kind words of support. Every contribution became part of a shared effort to help Oleksii return to an active life.

Special thanks to the rehabilitation specialists at the Western Rehabilitation and Sports Center of the NSCDU for their professionalism and tangible results. The rehabilitation goals focused on reducing the risk of falls, increasing walking functionality and independence, and improving strength, speed, endurance, and tolerance to physical load and these goals were achieved.

Course outcomes:

• Timed Up and Go (TUG): 8.85 s → 8.83 s
• 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT): 7.42 s → 7.44 s
• 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT): 380 m → 444 m
• Four Square Step Test (FSST): 13.39 s → 11.62 s

444 meters in 6 minutes is not just a number. It represents steps backed by daily effort, pain, resilience, and the support of everyone who cared.

We believe in Oleksii’s continued recovery. We believe there are even more results, strength, and opportunities ahead. Thank you for being there. Together, we can do more!

 

COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED: UAH 90,000