TRUSKAVETS, Ukraine -- Friends and family of Vitaliy Shumey, who regained his ability to speak despite losing part of his skull in a Russian attack nearly three years ago, say the former Ukrainian soldier is a "living example that miracles happen."
Thanks to a team of international surgeons and care from his devoted father, Shumey is recovering from his injuries in the western Ukrainian city of Truskavets and hopes to one day be able to walk again.
"Definitely. I must work on it," said Schumey with an impish grin.
The 37-year-old sergeant with the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade suffered severe brain injuries fighting near the city of Avdiyivka in August 2022. The antiaircraft unit he was commanding took a direct hit, and Shumey lost a portion of his skull.
"I remember my head was wounded. Something hit me right in the head," Shumey recalled in an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service correspondent Halyna Tereshchuk.
Shumey's father, Serhiy, has been by his son's side throughout the long recovery, raising donations to pay for surgeries and care at a neurorehabilitation
center near Barcelona, Spain.
"We will be with you, my dear," his father said at the start of his rehabilitation. "We will be by your side through all the treatments."
Even though Shumey could not speak after his injuries, he eventually managed to communicate by blinking and then eventually speaking. Patiently, his father kept talking to his son and played harmonica for him.
"What did you always want to tell your dad when you couldn't speak?" asked RFE/RL. "The music. I liked the music," said Shumey.
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Ukrainian Soldier Regains Speech After Losing Part Of His Skull
Among the donors who helped pay for Shumey's care was the Shakhtar Donetsk soccer club, which also provided a jersey with Shumey's name on it.
He also gets lots of letters of support which his father reads aloud to him.
"Vitaliy is a living example that miracles happen in this world," said one well-wisher.
"That's so nice," said the touched soldier from his bed.
Shumey regularly undergoes treatments for his damaged legs and does exercises to strengthen his neck.
"He wants to communicate a lot and doesn't stop," says physiotherapist Mykola Nadych.
"He is curious. He asks lots of questions. He's just curious how much I earn and so on," provoking a chuckle from Shumey sitting next to him.
Shumey's service in the Ukrainian military goes back more than a decade. He fought battles against Russia-backed separatists in 2014 in the eastern Donbas region.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he fought near Kyiv and in the eastern part of the country. His father believes his son should be awarded one of his country's top honors.
"He was never in the rear and always in the very front. I think he deserves the Hero of Ukraine award," he said.