COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Jessie Kichigin became a nurse, she made a promise to help any and everyone.
When Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Jessie Kichigin’s heart dropped.
“The worst part was just feeling like I couldn’t do anything,” said Kichigin.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, she felt she had to take action because the attack was personal.
“My aunt and my cousin have fled over to Poland so that she could get them to as safe of a place as possible, but my personal ties especially had propelled me into finding something quickly,” said Kichigin.
She applied to various Ukraine humanitarian trips, but was turned down until she found “Love 4.” It’s a group of medical doctors and nurses that accepts anyone willing to volunteer their time.
“I was really fortunate to find her, and I had a few days to figure out logistics and before I knew it I was on a plane to Poland,” said Kichigin.
When Kichigin arrived, she wasn’t nervous or scared, but excited and anxious to help. When she first touched down she thought she’d be putting her medical training to use, but it was her bedside manner and Russian language skills that made the most impact.
“We would help translate,” said Kichigin. “We would help with transporting things or moving things for people, we would even just try to talk to people to provide almost like a mini counseling session to get everything out.”
Times were hard, and all problems couldn’t be solved with a quick conversation. Kichigin was there for weeks and Ukrainians continued to pour into the refugee sites. One particular story will stay with her the rest of her life. A Ukrainian soldier and father asked them to put aside some insulin for his daughter, but died in battle before he could pick it up.
“This poor little 5-year-old girl is left without a father and without her insulin, and without this, she’s going to die,” said Kichigin. “So one of the family’s friends ended up coming to the border and picking it up and getting it over to her.”
This story is one of the hundreds of stories that she reflects on as she now cares for patients back at home.
She said what we can all learn from these stories is empathy.
“Just put yourself in these people’s shoes, because this is a real situation and these people’s stories are real stories,” said Kichigin.
She said she hopes to go back as soon as she can.
