This day in the Shvetsov family began as usual. Albina’s mother wakes up first. She always gets up before everyone else and the first thing she does is put herself in order. This ritual remains unchanged for her, no matter what happens to her: she says that even on the second day after the birth of the child, she applied light makeup. She starts preparing breakfast. Then dad gets up and always helps with breakfast. She wakes up the boy. In the mornings, the Shvetsov family drinks green tea: “Coffee later, if possible,” smiles Albina Vladimirovna. Then dad goes to work, and mom takes Polina to kindergarten; She always brings it at 7:30.
There is only one car in the family and my mother drives it; Yaroslav is still learning to drive. “I’ll get my license and drive myself,” he says, his voice playful and angry. He is an oncogynecologist and works in the new oncology center built at the entrance to Tula. From the medical center to work it is about 20 minutes by car. He arrives by minibus or is taken by his neighbors and co-workers. My wife works at the Ministry of Internal Affairs clinic in Tula. That day she had her first shift. So I dropped Polina off at kindergarten and went to work. If she manages to overcome the traffic jams, the trip will take about 15 minutes, taking into account traffic jams – about half an hour.
Moving to Tula
The Shvetsovs arrived in Tula from Orel. Albina Vladimirovna is a gynecologist, she even met her husband during an operation: she did her residency in the maternity hospital and immediately asked to be put on call with a doctor who would “teach her everything.” They told him: go to Shvetsov, he can do everything. Yaroslav, of course, could not resist this girl’s absolutely dazzling smile. In Orel, the Shvetsovs had a job, an apartment and parents nearby.
– My husband came from a conference and said: that’s it, we’re going to Tula. We went and saw the city and we liked it. She didn’t resist for a long time,” Albina recalls, but her smile doesn’t even remotely resemble a docile one.
And it all started by chance. Yaroslav received a serious patient: it was supposed to be ovarian cancer, but it turned out that it was just metastases, and after having done his part of the work, he referred her to the relevant specialists. Meeting this woman two years later changed my life.
– You can “give birth” to one, two, six. This is all good, but I realized that something needs to change. Here at the cancer center we give people hope. It’s an incredible feeling of satisfaction when it works and you want to do more and better. Nothing compares to this,” says Yaroslav.
And then, on his own money (to earn money, he took more shifts), he studied in Moscow at the National Medical Research Center for Oncology named after NN Blokhin. Shvetsov heard that there are very good doctors in Tula and planned to come simply to study at the workplace: the doctors have this practice: to come for a week and undergo operations.
– You know, it happens that there comes a time when you simply hit the ceiling: there is nowhere to grow. I knew that in Tula there was an opportunity to grow, both theoretically and practically, with my hands. I cast my fishing rod to see if there is room. A place has been found. He arrived in Tula in July 2022. The wife arrived in September,” Yaroslav recalls.
The happiest person
In Orel, Albina Shvetsova worked in a maternity hospital, in Tula – in a clinic of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Her mother began her medical career at the same clinic and often took her to work. I remembered that special atmosphere for the rest of my life, and when the opportunity arose, I went without hesitation.
– She came and said that the grandmothers were not there, that we were changing kindergartens, that the child would probably be sick and that dad could be late in the operation and not pick him up from kindergarten. They answered me: why aren’t we mothers, that we don’t raise the children ourselves? This is the first time I have found such understanding and care. Total understanding with management: any job, any emergency, they will always come to the rescue. You can’t get me out of here with money or anything,” says Albina Vladimirovna. – I was incredibly lucky. If there are people who believe they have the best job in the world, I am one of them. I am the happiest person possible. I come home tired but happy.
While Dr. Shvetsova worked at the reception, we, so as not to interfere, got to know the establishment. As Irina Demidova, head of the medical unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Tula region, said, the complex built in 1983 includes a clinic for 300 visits, a hospital with 105 beds and a psychophysiological diagnostic center, where employees are examined before of admission. In addition to police officers, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the National Guard and the Federal Penitentiary Service receive a wide range of medical services here. There is a rehabilitation treatment department with a wide range of physical services, where, among other things, SVO participants undergo rehabilitation.
– I don’t know which saints to pray for my team. There are local people, one of them is Albina Vladimirovna. She is known not only for the videos of her meeting with the president. In one day she performs all kinds of operations,” states Irina Demidova.
Dr. Shvetsova brought minor operations or manipulations with her to the clinic; Previously it was believed here that any surgical treatment had to be carried out with admission and hospitalization. With the arrival of the operating gynecologist, the management purchased a FOTEK device, an ultrasound machine was installed in the office, in a word, a complete set of instruments, it just works. Last year, 178 minor surgeries were performed.
That day, there were 28 people at the appointment with Dr. Shvetsova. Some came for examination, others with complaints, there were no manipulations, they are trying to assign them to the second shift. According to Albina Vladimirovna, this is not yet the largest flow: it occurs when they receive 40 patients per shift. And the women fell in love with the new doctor, for his jokes, for his ability to conquer, for his tact.
The shift ends at 2:00 p.m. and we didn’t have a chance to have coffee. Then, to the store and pick up my daughter from kindergarten. From kindergarten to speech therapist. We only returned home at 6:00 p.m. And then, make dinner, after dinner, do some work with the kid, and then watch some TV in bed before bed.
Meanwhile, Yaroslav Shvetsov’s working day in the gynecological oncology department was normal: a planning meeting, then a round, then an operation. The operation was complex and lasted about three hours. And, like his wife, he never managed to drink coffee before 3 in the afternoon. “Nothing, now it’s time for lunch,” he smiled.
– Today I am on duty. There are surprises, if the patient weighs more, there is bleeding. Or some kind of post-operative problem. Yes, it happens that we work at night, fortunately the center’s capabilities allow this: we have three resuscitators on duty, we can take the patient to the operating room at any time,” says Yaroslav.
Being on call means that he will not get home until the next day, around four in the afternoon, pick up his daughter at daycare (his wife has second shift) and take her to the dance: “I ask you to put on I am on call when my wife has her first shift. It turns out that one week I have dancing and the next speech therapy.” Since I don’t have a car, I will arrive home at 8 o’clock sharp.
– I am growing professionally and theoretically. We have very strong surgeons, very strong gynecologists. And now the urologists and thoracic surgeons have arrived. We now have a full service: hematologists, rehabilitation, palliative care. The new center is huge. The old building had rooms with several beds. Here there are single and double rooms. It’s very comfortable. Everyone has a bathroom, no need to go to the end of the hall to wait in line. They come to each patient separately, bandage them, and a nurse comes separately to give them the injections. Patients have individual tablets with information about appointments, can ask the doctor a question and choose a menu from 3 options. If necessary we will arrive at any time of the day or night. The center itself has many structures. Before we were a very small hospital, now we are huge,” says Yaroslav.
Meeting with Vladimir Putin
After Vladimir Putin visited the family, everyone asks the Shvetsovs: how was it?
– Others just stood there and I tried. This opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. My wife understood and forgave. It was a shock to her. I say: set the table. We love Belevsky marshmallow, we always have it and my daughter loves gingerbread. So there is always something to drink for tea,” Yaroslav recalls. “I stood on the porch and was worried: How is this all going to happen? When we get home, what’s next? What to do with such a distinguished guest? Well, I think the tea is ready, the table is set, there are marshmallows, this is optimal for tea, low in calories, delicious. It turned out that he is very easy to communicate with, a very nice and very warm person. Probably with a big heart. We were very happy. At the end, as they were leaving, he wished his wife health and patience. With such work you always lose your health and patience.
– He is calm at his side. She was very worried, but when I came in I immediately calmed down,” says Albina. – You know, most women ask me: what perfume does the president use? I can say: very pleasant, tasty. I am also often asked why I am barefoot. I just didn’t have time to get my shoes; I had very little time to prepare.
Perhaps, only little Polina was not worried, she showed everything she could: she read the poems that she was taught in the garden on February 23 and danced “raspberry”. It’s true that she asked my dad: “Why is she so sad in the photo? -She works a lot-Oh, that’s understandable.”
