Everything seemed normal when Oksana Balandina and Viktor Vasyliv were walking home but, with a single misstep, their lives changed.
Just as Oksana shouted, “Honey, look!” the landmine she saw exploded, sending her to the ground. Although Viktor was fine, she was not. After months of treatment in various hospitals, doctors finally had to amputate both of her legs and four fingers on her left hand. Oksana, who has two children with Viktor, was devastated.
“I did not want to live … I did not want to be a burden for anyone in my family,” she said. “But thanks to the support, I accepted it. I need to keep living. It is not the end of the life. If the God left me alive, that’s my destiny.”
With a new lease on life, Oksana and Viktor decided it was time to do something they had yet to find the time to do during their six years together: Get married! Recognizing that life is too short, they had a ceremony in the hospital where she’s staying as she prepares for prosthetic surgery. The bride was able to wear a wedding dress, there was cake baked by volunteers at the hospital, and they even got to experience their first dance!
Watch Oksana and Viktor’s first dance below and don’t forget to share.
â¤ï¸ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¦ Very special lovestory.
– Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – Ukrainian Parliament (@ua_parliament) May 2, 2022
A nurse from Lysychansk, who has lost both legs on a russian mine, got married in Lviv. On March 27, Victor and Oksana were coming back home, when a russian mine exploded. The man was not injured, but Oksana’s both legs were torn off by the explosion. pic.twitter.com/X1AQNwKwyu
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