Photo: Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS
Well, friends, my name is Ignatius and I am from the city of… Detsovska (I think it is understandable why I distort the name and the city). I am a resuscitator by profession. Behind him is a military department, for which he received a summons.
October 9 – October 14
I’m here. The wounded are brought here for pre-hospital care. Many injured. Blood, pain, and the tools to take it all away. They also bring me the residents of cities that have been bombed. There is not enough medicine and equipment, we do our best, we sleep for 4-5 hours.
October 15th
hard night. No strength. There is only a little joy. We have a cat.
Devil knows where he’s from, there’s not much left. But this little friend is now like a normal piece of life for me. If they move it to another place, I’ll ask you to take it with you.
I have never had anything living in the house except fish. As a child, they somehow did not start, and then I was afraid that I would not be able to cope, because he was always at work.
And now I understand that I am an idiot. They care more about us than we care about them. They entertain when there are heavy thoughts in the head, warm the soul, lie down on the chest and, most importantly, cause love and kindness.
Kindness is not enough. When you see all these wounds, a lump of hate forms in your throat. So you see the same suffering among the prisoners and the hate is a little different. And then you stroke this fluffy muzzle and all the hate is gone.
October 19 – October 22
The positions are calm. I can’t decide what to name the cat. It’s still just a cat. He seems to be the calmest and happiest creature in this place.
They throw me at the border first aid post in the back! We need to replace the doctor who suffered a heart attack. You can even sleep there! The cat comes with me, he needs it here, I don’t want him to run away. Fortunately it is so useful! She tossed it to her chest and left. He’s warming up there in my big army jacket. And no special cages are needed.
While driving, I was very full of excitement or longing, at one point I caught myself thinking that I wanted to stay in the ravine, which we were passing through. They only kept pity for the cat and, of course, thoughts about his daughter. You can still live for these two.
October 23 – October 24
We are there with the cat. I am already replacing a colleague.
In the morning I managed to get some rest, lay down and instantly fell into a half-dream-half-fog. The training ground, the tanks, the explosions… I woke up and realized that I was no longer in bed, but in a ravine. I hear machine gun fire and a deafening volley. I can’t feel my legs and I’m afraid to look there.
I control myself, I look at my feet and I understand that in them lies my cat, my only friend, the remnant of my soul, my sympathy, my kindness. Broken lies.
I woke up again from my own scream, I felt the cat, which was basking next to me under the jacket. The dream was realistic.
It’s almost been two days. In the afternoon we will return with the cat.
October 26 – October 27
I drink coffee and go the second day. I slept a couple of hours. Too bad I’m already losing the focus of my vision, I asked to be replaced, I’m going to rest. It’s cold in the place, there is nothing to heat yet.
The cat sleeps all day on my blanket, so the place is always warm for me. He only gets up when I come back and feed him. He eats the same as me: semi-dry porridge, bread, broth. What they will bring, in general. does not complain. Good cat. If we lived with him, I would bring him home. Daughter would be happy. After the bombardment the day before yesterday, I lost two comrades.
October 28
Appendicitis.
This is what I didn’t expect. I thought anything could happen to me, but appendicitis? Now they will probably send me to the hospital. Because we don’t have conditions for this operation here.
October 29th
I stayed a little smaller. I’m lying down. For the first time in 5-7 years, I lie down and do nothing.
I forgot to tell you: of course, I couldn’t leave the cat on the battlefield. He begged his roommate to take care of him, but he takes care of the injured himself all day. Since he was supposed to be transported to a hospital in a typical Russian city, I thought the best option was to take the cat with me. Passing through the suburbs of Donetsk, I stopped at a pet store and bought her a baby carrier and a collar.
Naturally, we couldn’t take a cat to the hospital, sterility and all that. Therefore, while I was waiting for the operation, I agreed with the security guard that I would keep it in his back room, feed it, give it water. To be sure, he gave me a bigger tip.
Tomorrow the father and the daughter will come to me. They will take it away.
I would certainly feel lonely without him. So attached to this fluffy jerk. But it will be better for him. And my daughter has been asking for a cat for a long time!
October 30 – November 3
My father and my daughter came to see me at the hospital. I don’t know how much I have changed this month, I could tell that from their faces. I gave away the cat. There was a lot of joy for both the relatives and the cat! He’s a little shy from where he’s originally been, but I think he’ll quickly get used to the quiet home life. After a noisy front, walking into a warm and quiet house is like winning the lottery.
November 4th
On the way. Now without cat. Hey
Today I’m going for a day.
November 24
I was about to hand over my shift when the soldiers dragged an injured dog…
Source: Telegram channel Diario de un Mobilizado
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