Superhuman Stories

Words and Images by Marco V. Pereira

When The Spirit of Ukraine was declared Time Person of the Year in 2022, the national resilience really chimed with my experience of visiting the country. Indeed, months earlier, this was exactly what I had aspired to capture: stories of positivity amidst the consequence of the full-scale invasion. On a quiet street in a little suburb, just east of Lviv, I found plenty.

Superhumans Center “gives Ukrainians the superhero life they deserve.” Deploying Iron Man branding that would make Tony Stark proud, the state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs on offer elevate amputees to bionic men and women. Given the serious nature of the physical (and mental) trauma among patients, the tangible feel-good energy around the center is remarkable.

Every amputee has a unique story, a unique injury, and a unique stump. An in-house medical team including experts from Washington DC take a plaster cast, which is then used to design a personalized polyurethane socket that can be attached to titanium prosthetics. Once fitted, patients must then undergo intensive physiotherapy and training, to learn to navigate their new limbs – from literal baby steps along parallel bars to dribbling a football or attempting to salsa. The staff are visibly patient and supportive, with amputees attending an often emotional “graduation ceremony” before they are discharged.

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When I visited, Petro drove me to lunch. Unsurprising, perhaps, that a former international truck driver might get behind the wheel – but this man was now a double-amputee. Rushing back to Ukraine from Spain in 2022 to enlist as a military truck driver, a fateful choice at a road junction outside Kherson led to a landmine removing both legs and two fingers, with a huge loss of blood. “No one believed I would survive,” he says, sharing a larger-than-life smile that hints at the tremendous grit and optimism required to relearn how to walk, let alone to relearn how to drive! Petro has since set up a car-centered charitable foundation (of course) where he personally drives donated SUVs from Central Europe to the military at the front line.

After lunch, in the training hall, I met the charismatic young Vova, taking a salsa lesson. I found this quite profound; less about learning to move a prosthetic leg in time with the rhythm, and more about allowing a heart to rediscover the joy of dance. Vova had been a fitness instructor in Kharkiv and has a young son. In early 2023 he signed up to fight in Donetsk, helping to liberate various settlements over six months – but also setting off a landmine close to Bakhmut. Vova’s skillset and personal experience now present a distinctive advantage: “I would like to set up a fitness room for people with disabilities. I understand them better and know how to train them.”

On a second visit to Superhumans Center I found Vova collecting a 3D-printed thigh accessory, a polymer add-on to give volume to his new leg under the trousers. He tries not to take himself too seriously – evident in a photoshoot that reminds me yet again of the Ukrainian sense of humor that has been so important for morale these last few years.

Upon return to Kyiv, I was put in touch with Serhiy. Having volunteered in May 2022, he served in Sumy and Luhansk regions. But in July two S-300 rockets hit the building where soldiers were stationed, causing four floors to collapse on him. “Under the rubble for eight hours, I had already said goodbye to my life. But when I felt a corridor of air, I knew I could survive.” Serhiy lost both legs, suffered trauma to his chest and skull, and was in intensive care for over a month – a very difficult time.

Serhiy has a loving wife and an adorable three-and-a-half-year-old boy. I visited to take a family portrait, joining them on a trip to the playground. It was lovely. It was also a glimpse of a future in which Ukraine will embrace the scars of war, amputees will be seen in public spaces and young children will run around indifferent. I cannot begin to imagine Serhiy’s sacrifice, but I can say that I saw vast bravery, dignity and resilience.

Superhuman alumni Serhiy, Vova and Petro carry their superpowers forward; they will inspire wherever they go.